In the Name of God
by Oldwickedsongs
Summary: -Completed- In 1462, comrades in arms Van Helsing and Dracula travel to Dracula's homeland to begin a journey that will end in his damnation. Politics, love, and religion all play a role, and before it's over: brother shall betray brother unto death. RR
1. Muslim Prison

Disclaimer: "If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended,

That you did but slumber'd here while these visions did appear.

And this weak and idle theme is no more yielding then a dream."

> > > -Midsummer's Night Dream

_"You and I go back a long way, Gabriel. _

_I know why you have such horrible nightmares."_

> - Count Dracula
> 
> **In the Name of God**
> 
> **Lady Erised**

It was hot, dank and the smell of human feces was overwhelming. The building had been made of stone, with no mind for ventilation or sanity needs, and during the hot noondays the building became an oven that baked the inhabitants. In truth, death by dehydration and sunstroke would be the kinder of fates. The harsher involved the rats and insects that came to eat, breed or just plain fester in open wounds of those unlucky enough to be caught by massive, brutal Islamic armies. Chained against the wall were twenty some odd men of various nationalities and religions who called to each other in rapid, unorganized sentences that even on the best of days would only sound like noise.

Not that Gabriel would have cared about what they were talking about anyways. He was never one for languages or small talk.

Gabriel Van Helsing raised his head and closed his eyes slowly before opening them and watching the sun slowly descend over the horizon. In the middle of the desert, the retreating sun made the air shimmer like water, reminding him of rivers that ran over black rocks from his home. It was almost beautiful.

Gingerly, careful not to harass the wounds that burned his back, Gabriel flexed his shoulder muscles as best he could. His hands were shackled above his head by irons that were warmed by the sun, which caused the metal to burn into his skin, causing fresh skin to be revealed to the harsh elements before it was prepared. His shoulders, and the back of his neck was raw too where the Muslims had flayed him just lightly enough to invite the vermin to come and make their home in his open wounds. It had hurt during those first few days but now was a dull stinging sensation. It was when he felt nothing that worried him.

"Next time, Gadjo. Can I pick the vacation spot?"

Gabriel licked his dry lips and grimaced. For a second, he didn't know what was worst: being imprisoned by ruthless warriors or being rescued by an incredibly self-centered savoir. "You came just in time to see my brilliant escape."

"Oh in that case, should I just sit up here and wait? Better yet, I saw this amazing woman on the way in…she's the Mullah's daughter, but he won't mind will he?"

"Vlad…"

"Tall, built, tanned, with brown eyes and this sort of teasing smile…"

"Vlad…" Gabriel began again, looking up and hearing footsteps on the stairs. That would be the torturer, in for his afternoon session.

"Not to mention, she had the most amazing…"

"Vladislaus!"

"What?"

"Have you come to rescue me or not?"

"Oh, right, sorry."

Out of nowhere it seemed a figure appeared before Van Helsing's feet, kneeling before standing to his full height and flashing a self-assured grin. Even on Gabriel's best days, Vladislaus Dracula outshined him but wasn't that he was anymore attractive then Gabriel, but rather there was nothing Vlad loved more then to parade himself.

He rose slowly to his feet, allowing the retreating sun to shine on his features. He was wearing black pants and a blue coat that hung lazily on his slender, handsome frame. On his thigh hung a short sword, with an axe hanging ominously behind his back. He wore a brown gauntlet on his left arm that had many little silver pins and assorted trinkets tucked into small pinholes. As he kneeled down beside Van Helsing, his brown eyes stared into Gabriel's with mirth and sincerity as he jerked a stray lock of hair out of his eyes. His dark brown hair was pulled into a braid that was tipped with silver at the end.

Gabriel closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled. He could smell the forest on Vlad, the sort of bittersweet scent of old leather mixed with just the tiniest bit of sweet liquor. He opened his eyes, tilting his head and leaning forward to brush his cheek against Vlad's.

He found himself smiling when he heard Vlad chuckle in his ear. "I know, Gadjo." Vlad whispered. "But come now, you didn't really think I'd leave you all alone here, did you?" He rose and removed the irons from about Gabriel's wrists, squatting down long enough to catch Van Helsing as he fell forward. His voice broke once as he eased Gabriel against the wall, to lean back and studied his wounds. Gabriel noticed the look of concern on Dracula's face and noted it disappeared the instant he realized he was being watched. "After all, you have something very important to me _AND_ owe me money."

"That was hardly a fair bet, Vladislaus."

"Ohh, he uses my full name…"

"First off, I was drunk."

"Not my fault." A beat followed as Dracula tried to force Gabriel to his feet. "Okay, not totally my fault."

"And I told you, I would never fight a lady."

"It wasn't a lady."

"Yes, but I didn't know that till later that night."

"That's a story you're going to have to finish else where, Gadjo. Up we go!"

Gabriel felt Vlad hoist him up the rafters where he forced the last reserves of his strength to grab the wooden bar and lift his whole body unto it. He exhaled, heavily as he slid against the inside of the roof and the exposed rafters, pushing his back against the wall and waiting. He craned his head over and cursed.

Dracula was squatting beside a huge gorilla of an Arab who would have happily killed him in the name of his God any other day, and Vlad was making himself busy by picking his locks as well. Gabriel tilted his head and watched, anger growing within him, as Dracula moved quickly down the line of chained inmates, freeing each in turn and apparently paying no attention to the Torturer pushing the heavy door out of the way.

"Vlad, we need to get out of here!" Gabriel shouted, reaching down and trying to swat at Dracula's ponytail.

"Just a moment, God. I'll be with you in a second!" Vlad hissed as he worked on the last few prisoners' shackles.

"What are you doing? I know Gypsy minds are a little slower then German ones, but they're the enemy."

"What, God? I didn't catch that last part." Dracula fell back as the last prisoner jumped to his feet in a rage. "What was that about Germans being the enemy?"

Gabriel inhaled and reached down, grabbing at Dracula as Vladislaus stood. He grabbed hold of the first thing he could find and yanked on it. He heard Dracula wince and jerked away, grabbing at his ponytail and looking up, furiously.

"I get the picture, Gadjo." He hissed. "We're leaving!" He exhaled and braced himself, before throwing himself into a powerful jump unto the rafter. He spread out both his arms, and stuck one foot out, folding the other one under him as he landed to brace himself but in doing so, invoking the image of a bird of prey swooping down on an enemy as he landed. Gabriel sucked air in between his teeth, watching Dracula and would have sworn he flew.

Then again, this wasn't a new revelation. Vladislaus Dracula often seemed beyond human. Dracula turned slightly on the narrow catwalk, one hand over his heart and the other raised above his head as he danced slightly in place, parading his victory. Gabriel just laughed at him. Dracula looked up and waved an admonishing finger at him. "Now, now Gadjo. I've done a good deed. I freed the captives."

"Captives that will one day come right back and hunt us down." Van Helsing said as he stood. Dracula walked towards him and slid into Gabriel's arms, allowing the injured man's full weight on him. Vlad snaked his arm around Van Helsing's back as they crawled out of the roof through the hole Dracula had made.

"It is true what you say." Vlad deadpanned as they walked over the rooftops, sometimes stumbling, sometimes running to get away from noises, real or imagined. There was one earth-shattering scream behind them that caused Gabriel to shrink in terror from the noise. It took him a moment to realize it was the Torturer's voice as the inmates overtook him. Vlad was staring into the distance, and then turned back to him. "But for now, they make a great diversion."

"Why did you come for me?" He asked, staring into those brown eyes. He noticed that when sincerity showed its head, Vlad began to act like a child, unwilling to accept the truth. Gabriel smiled at this disclosure but pressed on. "You should have been half way back to Hungary by now."

"What? And deal with your aunt all by myself? How would I explain to her that I lost you?"

"It's war, people lose things in war."

"I don't." Vlad said, shortly. He had stood by now, walking towards the edge of the roof and looking down. He turned his back at Gabriel, smiled weakly, and looked back down. "Aha, here my lovely Saracen comes."

"Intessar?" Gabriel asked, as he stood. He limped towards the edge of the roof. "You brought Intessar into this? You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

"Yeah, yeah, just don't bring up the Mullah's daughter, alright?" Vlad grabbed his hand and threw them both off the roof unto the awaiting coverless wagon.

Gabriel sat up first, spitting out bits of straw and hay from his mouth as he shook off grime he felt his whole body was covered in. He sucked in air instead of screaming as he flexed his raw back again, and was startled when he felt cool linen touch his wounds. He looked up and saw Vlad pulling his coat back over his shirtless frame before crawling to the front of the wagon to lean over and kiss the driver.

Intessar turned her head, and craned it as Vladislaus reached in, pushing away the edge of her veil to reveal the full, maroon lips underneath. Gabriel looked away, for a moment, then returning his gaze to Intessar long enough to see her almond shaped brown eyes smiling at him from the gap in her head covering. He had never seen Intesser or her beauty and wondered what about this woman had made Vlad fall so completely in love for her. She was a devout Muslim, a Moor Vlad had brought with him from Spain when his father called him home. Although they were not, nor could ever be married, Gabriel knew they loved each other beyond all reason.

More was Vlad's sin. Gabriel knew, at least in some part of his soul he rarely visited, that Vlad was not as true a Christian as he should be. But it was not his fault; Gabriel countered himself as he always did when this battle came to mind. Vladislaus had been raised in Muslim-controlled Spain by his Gypsy mother's family, not by his converted father. Vlad had been 12 when his father, Valerious Dracul had married Catherine, a Catholic Hungarian aristocrat, and Gabriel's aunt. To say Vlad and his new stepmother didn't get along was to put it lightly and rather then promote strife within his father's house, Vlad traveled to Spain.

He returned twelve years later, with Intessar, when his father's boarders of Transylvania were threatened by the Ottomans. It was then Gabriel met him; after Catherine had exercised her will on her financially dependant nephew and calling him to help in the defense of her new lands. Gabriel had barely begun his studies to become a priest and had been less then pleased with the prospect of years of war and savagery on this, the most bloodiest, of fronts.

There had been the nightmares after all…

But, luckily for Gabriel, Vlad had been there from almost the beginning to teach, instruct and when needed, protect him from the war. Dracula relished war, and commanding troops and he was good at it too. His men loved him for his courage, leadership and sheer iron will. Vlad was as quick with a sword as he was with a joke, and the people loved him for it.

His skills had made him legendary in his own times, almost invincible and there were times Gabriel wondered if Dracula had made a pact with God, the Devil, or some other thing to become so successful.

After all, for all of Dracula's life and strength, there had always been that darkness that loomed just behind Dracula's eyes like a fog. That connection to something deeper, and darker then anything Gabriel, even with all his biblical knowledge, could decipher.

It was that part of Gypsy in Dracula that civilization and Christianity hadn't driven from him just yet. It was that connection to the old gods and shrouded rites and rituals that the missionaries of old had tried so long to kill in the Gypsy people. That vestige of trickster, witch and thief that was the inheritance of all Gypsy that Valerious had thankfully forsaken in lieu of the true God, and that Gabriel prayed every night Dracula would be protected from as well.

For when such darkness runs in a people for so long, salvation from it usually comes at a high price and Gabriel wished to spare Vlad from this.

A loud slap brought Gabriel from his foreboding back to the moment.

Vlad was lying on the hay, holding his cheek with one hand and laughing. Intesser was smiling smugly at Gabriel before turning to face ahead and start the horses. He fell back into the hay as the wagon took off towards the border. Not wanting to sit up again, he turned and asked Vlad why Intesser had slapped him.

"She heard me talking about the Mullah's daughter." Vlad mused.

"Allah forgive me for loving an infidel." Intessar quipped from her place.

Vlad just rolled his eyes in a playful symbol. He laughed again and rolled closer to Gabriel. "When we get home, everything will be better."

"Is that where we're going? Home?" Gabriel asked, his spirits rising.

His friend nodded, "Yes, my father is ill and there is something wrong at home."

"What's happened?"

"I don't know. Anne wrote but didn't say much. Only for us to hurry and return home."

"Are you worried?"

"Why should I be? I have a good sword, trustworthy friends and my wits to protect me." Vlad's voice dropped the humor for a moment. "Get some rest, Gabriel. It'll be a while before I can have those wounds looked at properly."

"Yes sir."

"Oh wait, I almost forgot!" Vlad said as once more as he pushed himself up on one arm to reach over and Gabriel's left hand into his. Pulling off a silver ring that bore the emblem of a Dragon on it from Gabriel's hand, Vlad exhaled, and looked at him, tapping his chest lightly and smiling. "And now, I have my ring back."

"And now I'm going to have to steal it back from you." Gabriel hissed, playfully as he closed his eyes to slumber.

"You can try, Gadjo." Dracula playfully rejoined, himself drifting into rest. "You can try."


	2. Vaseria

**Author's Note: Thank you for the wonderful reviews, hope you enjoy this new chapter. I tried to weave in some of the answers to your questions into the chapter, sorry if I didn't get to yours. Forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes. Again, enjoy and review! **

**Chapter Two: **

Catherine of Tenneberg regarded herself in the mirror for a long time without moving. She was no longer the beauty that used to turn heads at court, that much was a painfully clear, but she still had that innate fire that burned behind her eyes that caused men to take notice. Her reddish brown hair had begun to turn gray around her face and the lines that steamed from the corner of her eyes were becoming clearer every winter. But her eyes still blazed. Powerful and deep, her green eyes had always stayed with people long after they had talked. Catherine had made a habit of looking people in the eye when she spoke to them (unheard of for a woman to do) but she had learned quickly that this brashness earned her respect instantly.

For a woman, even one as well to do as she was, Catherine knew at a very young age that this would be one of the very few tangible powers she could hold on her own. The power struggle was inherently a boys-only game that she was only privy to glimpse through her husbands or any male offspring she would give them. This did not boded well with Catherine and shortly after this revelation occurred to her, she set out to change it. She began to transform herself. She employed the best moralists, philosophers and novelists to instruct her on the matters of society- on what was socially acceptable and what was required for a lady to be revered and respected but even more important; they taught what people fought so hard to hide. She learned the taboos, vices, secrets and lusts that men kept hidden away in dark corners of their souls and used it to crave out a piece of the world for herself and when her skills as a seductress and blackmailer didn't work, she always had her black magic.

As she placed a grandiose necklace around her neck, she thought idly that she had not always been this callous.

She had, at first, resigned herself to that fate. She married out of love to a low ranking official in the King's court and had done her duties as wife: hosting parties, spying on rivals and giving him a son and heir, Feodor. What she got for all her hard work was a husband who never excelled beyond his lowly rank and ended up drinking himself into a stupor and dying in the bed of an illiterate 13-year-old maid. Large debts her husband had left after his passing stripped Catherine of his lands, riches and any dignity she would have in the Court. To remain in the manner she was accustomed to, Catherine was forced to marry an outsider; the King's pet Gypsy who had made himself a favorite in court by his thrilling campaigns against the Moors.

Valerious' victories along the borders with the Ottoman Empire, especially with the battle at Varna had earned Valerious the title of Count by King Casimir IV and a membership in the Order of the Dracul, or Dragon. She remembered ruefully those first few encounters with Valerious Dracul at court. She had loved the brutality and savagery that was breed in his eyes, and had laughed with the other women at his other worldliness, thrilled the same way one is thrilled by observing a tiger or other man-eater. She had taken his advantages and encouraged them, and when it came the time, she had accepted his invitation and the promise of the power and lands that came with it.

Catherine inhaled sharply as cheers broke through her bedroom window, breaking through her reverie and forcing to mind a cruel truth she despised. Outside, Vaseria was coming out in droves to welcome back their patron Count. Balling her hands into tight fists, Catherine studied the window for a long time, debating if she really wanted to walk and look out, knowing that she would see Vladislaus smiling face grinning up at her mockingly.

He had always been a thorn in her side. As Valerious firstborn son, Vladislaus, not her sons, stood to inherit Valerious' ample fortunes, lands and the title of Count. Her son Feodor would be left with nothing, while her youngest, Valerious (named after his father) would live at the mercy of his older brother. Vladislaus was the only thing that was keeping her from the power she worked so hard and sacrificed so much for. She hated that smug boy with all her being but knew, painfully, that disposing of him must be done quietly and precisely.

She had already set the plan into motion after all. She didn't need to sabotage herself by striking Vladislaus directly. He'd damn himself in his own time, in his own way. All she had to do was wait. And once he was gone, all she needed to do was dispose of her husband.

She licked her lips hungrily at the idea of power being so close within her grasp. Looking down at her aging hands, she smiled at the power that would soon be there. This whole area, almost a kingdom in itself, would be hers. The Devil had been kind to her, and kept his promises.

God would have kept her a slave to her husband. She had to admit; she liked her new employer better.

"Do you hear them?" Feodor asked as he walked into her room. He took after her, both in his auburn hair that fell in short tresses over his green eyes and in loyalty to their mutual employer. He also shared her taste for the finer things in life, and that was evident in his gold and while outfit. He was staring at her windows, as he crossed to her. "Do you, mother? Baying like cattle for that pompous lout."

"Careful, Feodor." Catherine soothed as she rose to embrace her son. Her arms found his waist as he moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around hers. She slid her hands under his tunic to touch his bare skin and trace the line of his pants. She smiled as he inhaled from the touch. "The servants might hear you."

"Let them hear me!" He growled. "I'm tired of bowing and scraping to such a thing."

"I told you, we must be patient with this if we want it to succeed." Feodor craned his head and looked his mother in the face. He kept glancing at her lips, watching them with an intensity akin to a wolf observing his prey. She suppressed an excited shutter and continued. "When is the next full moon?"

"Two days from now, why?" He smiled. "Have you finally chosen another target?"

"Perhaps. You'll have to wait and see." Catherine pulled away as Feodor reached in for a kiss and smiled to herself as he growled, angry to be denied his prize. "Now, go and greet your brother with a kiss."

The smell. It always began with the smell. Gabriel tried to turn away from the smell but knew this was a futile effort and, as it always did after the smell, the noise came. Loud, chaotic, like the prison, voices and the sound of metal against metal resounded over each other, reaching up to Heaven. Gabriel felt himself fall to his knees in the middle of the pandemonium. He coughed as dust filled his lungs and flinched as he felt the sun beat on his sweat soaked face. Someone was calling to him, screaming in a tongue he did not understand. He looked up, staring at the dark skinned person who was calling to him and motioning with his sword. Gabriel frowned as the man began to wave the sword, pointing behind him to where apparently some unknown thing was coming towards them.

Looking around, Gabriel realized he was in a compound, built of stone and ancient in its construction, and hundreds-maybe thousands- of his fellow people were milling about, screaming to each other. He looked back down and noticed the sand was becoming mud as it mixed with blood. Fear began to flood his body as he forced himself up. He stumbled back, looking around desperately for Vladislaus. Dracula had always protected him before, why had he failed him now?

He heard the scream of a child, and swung about towards its direction. He watched in horror as a woman, probably the mother, drew the blade from the baby's small body, looking upward and screaming to the heavens. She then turned the blade on herself and fell upon it.

Gabriel gasped and took two steps back. He shouted Vlad's name out, begging God to let his friend hear him. He spun around again, only to stiffen as he felt a sharp, piercing pain in his stomach. He looked down and stared in disbelief at the sword jutting from his gut. He tried to scream but terror took his voice as he watched, dumbly, as the blade was pulled from his stomach. He looked up and saw the face of the man who had been calling to him earlier.

The soldier met his eyes, and smiled sadly at him before falling to his knees and driving the sword through his own heart. Gabriel shuttered as he fell back, clutching at his stomach, and wondering why he felt no physical pain. As darkness overcame him, Gabriel felt the thick blackness pour into his lungs, suffocating him. He wondered idly, if this was finally his end, and maybe now, all the pain would stop.

Maybe now…he could rest.

"Gabriel! Gabriel!"

The darkness receded as quickly as it had come, and Gabriel opened his eyes to find Vlad's face searching his. He felt Dracula's hands gripping his shoulders and a second later, the sensation of being shook took over.

"Ow." Gabriel whined as he sat up, curling into Vlad's arms.

Vladislaus exhaled the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He glared at Gabriel. "Damn you, Gadjo!" He hissed. "Don't do that to me!"

Gabriel's fingers curled around Vlad's left hand, finding the ring and playing with it. He made sure he was shaking to provide a proper diversion. Vlad didn't even realize what was happening. He was too concerned with his friend's paleness to notice anything else.

"You had another dream, didn't you?"

Gabriel stopped, and looked away. He didn't know what to say to Vladislaus to make it better and in truth, didn't really believe it could be done. These nightmares had plagued him his entire life, robbing him of his sleep and sometimes, he feared, his sanity. They were always the same, violent and bloody, of battlefields that were spread across time and across the known world. He never fully understood or knew what was going on in these dreams- only that he was in the midst of war, and he was powerless to stop it.

"Maybe I was a warlord, in some life unknown to me." He mused, only half-teasing Vlad. Even as he joked, Gabriel worried that this might be the case. "Or a demon and God in his infinite wisdom has sent me these dreams now to be punished."

"Gabriel," Vlad said in a warning tone. "You are the kindness man I know. I do not believe this was your sins." He smiled. "Maybe you are a holy man, an angel. Some Minister of Grace sent to befriend good soldiers like me and remind us never to become to encumbered with war. You are to ensure we are safe from damnation."

Vlad was deliberately appealing to his faith in an attempt to soothe Gabriel.  Vlad knew of Gabriel's concern for him, and knew that if anything would work, Gabriel's love for Vlad's eternal soul would make it alright. It worked too. The trouble that was stirring in Gabriel's stomach eased as Van Helsing accepted this. He would never let Vlad be damned, and the idea that he had come to ensure that was a natural, comforting idea. It made the nightmares less painful, knowing that some good would come of them.

Gabriel smiled and returned to slipping the ring off Vlad's finger. He turned his head as he became aware of the noises of Vaseria. He turned his head to see the old Gypsy women as they circled the edge of the village, waving their many layered skirts as if fanning a flame and shouting in their native Romany to the forest. He jutted his chin in the direction. "What are they doing?"

Vlad turned and watched them grimly. "They're using their marhime to ward off Mulo'." He glanced at Gabriel and smiled nervously as he realized his explanation was worthless. He looked down briefly to translate Romany into English in his head before looking back up. "The women are unclean from the waist down. It's believed that they can ward off Mulo'- evil spirits- by threatening them with their impurity, their Marhime."

"What kind of evil spirit?" He asked, sitting up and in doing so pulling the ring completely off his finger. Gabriel tucked it into his hand as he stood.

The women turned and upon seeing him, knew Vlad could not be far behind. They began to cheer, dropping the skirts and running to the wagon. Gabriel smiled and looked down at Vlad. "You're famous."

Dracula grimaced and stood. He waved at the people and glanced at Gabriel. At the sight of the Count, the villagers surged to him, forcing Intessar to stop the wagon. He climbed out of the wagon to meet the villagers as they came towards him, shedding off his teasing nature for an air of formality that came as the price of leadership.

Gabriel stood, slowly and inched towards the front of the wagon to sit near Intessar. He knew she would feel the sting most, after all, Dracula and Intessar were in public now and the rules had changed. Intessar was his servant here, not his lover, and Gabriel was his advisor and cousin, not his friend. Here he was not Vladislaus, the playful, teasing spirit that called Gabriel Gadjo, or non-Gypsy, lovingly.

Here he was Count Dracula, the Hero of Constantinople. Here he was the Dark Prince of Transylvania, heir to Valerious and a great warlord. Here he was a noble in charge of great lands that he controlled tightly and some might say cruelly. Here the game was not played by swords and axes that Vladislaus could see coming towards him and shield against but by innuendo and plots that, if he was not careful, could be Vlad's undoing. Here he was a different man entirely.

And a married one.

"Husband!" Gabriel watched as Countess Anne came towards Dracula, pulling him into her arms. He turned just in time to see Intessar bow her head and look away from the display.

Vlad was looking at Anne, making his way to her to bring her into a hug. Although they had been married for years now, Gabriel knew that this display was only for the public. They had never even consummated the marriage. Vladislaus quite simply could not stand the idea of doing any harm to Anne by being unfaithful to her- or Intessar. In truth, Vlad felt both indebted and guilty about Anne but knew of no way to make it better. He was as much a victim of circumstance as Anne was, and Gabriel knew he hated that.

"Come," Gabriel whispered to Intessar. "You're beginning to stare."

"And I should be allowed to." She muttered back. "I am his wife more then she is."

"Yes, but she bears his name. And right now, that is enough. Now come, help me to my room."

"Gabriel, wait up! Let me help you." Vlad called from Anne's arms. Anne frowned and tugged on Vlad's arms, bringing his attention back to her. Vlad frowned at her. "What's gotten into you? Why are you acting this way?"

Gabriel frowned for a moment, of the many things Anne was, being assertive wasn't one of them. She was always a passive creature that allowed things to happen. The fact she seemed so desperate for alone time worried him.

"We need to talk," Anne whispered, looking at Gabriel for some help. "Now."

"Go ahead," Gabriel told Vlad as he helped Intessar off the wagon. He nodded briefly at Anne. "You'll see me in a moment."

"Alright," He heard Vlad say chidingly to Anne as he disappeared into the Valerious Manor. "You have my attention."

"Inside," Anne replied. "Come to my rooms."

Gabriel heard Intessar make a sound and he shook his head. "It's not like that, Tessa." He soothed. "You know Anne cannot steal him away from you."

"You men are so foolish sometimes." Intessar spoke. "You believe all can be obtained by overt actions. I know better. You see, Anne already has half her battle won. Vlad loves her."

"The same way he loves me, or any other friend."

"Yes, but men are weak when it comes to love, even more so then women, and powerful men like Vlad are greedy for it. He has many affairs to deal with, by the end of the day will long to be comforted by the soft arms and gentle voice of a woman."

"And he'll send for you."

Intessar laughed scornfully. "But how long can I keep a creature like Dracula in the dark? How long can I think to keep him crawling in the shadows like a demon for me? Love was not meant to be such a way and if I am not careful, I will lose him to the light." She looked frightened under her veil suddenly. "Or, he will be lost to me even in the darkness. Either way, Christian, and mark me…we will lose him."

Gabriel frowned at her revelation and turned back to study Vlad, to look for some reassurance from his friend that Intessar's musing were not so. But Vlad was already gone, having disappeared into the Manor to alleviate whatever fears Anne had had. Inhaling deeply, he reached down to the ring he had stolen, and played with it thoughtfully.

And prayed.


	3. Anne's Quaters

A/N: Sorry so short but gets the point across. RR

****

**Chapter Three: Anne's Quarters**

Anne could still remember the first time she had seen Vladislaus. He had been horseback riding with Intessar around the Vaseria, and she had been seated in her ornate carriage, pulling back the curtains that had been meant to keep her from being harassed by the sun or shocked by any of the villagers somewhat barbaric ways. But she had spent the entire time enthralled by the people, and by their ways. There was a truth to them, a basic almost humble lifestyle that she had never seen in Portugal. The Gypsy's brutality mixed with their spirituality and their values like a wonderful spray of bizarre and wonderful, fearful and appealing. And Count Vladislaus had been the incarnation of everything worthy from the Romany. He had been considerate, kind and perhaps even a little dangerous. He had been like an uncut diamond, something unpolished and mean but belied true beauty and the ability to inspire awe.

While Anne had only been the result of careful, almost painstaking planning and decision-making by Vlad's father. Valerious had wanted someone that would supplement his son's weakness in European culture, while appreciating his resistance to change. He wanted someone who would know how very much Vlad's Romany roots meant to him and would shield them from the Hungarian and altogether Western ideal of civilization. He had wanted someone for his son that would understand that even as a reluctant aristocrat in a far off land, Vladislaus would be a King in his own right. Anne had not only understood that but had loved that.

And Vladislaus loved her too, in his own way.

Anne was a beautiful woman, although she always appeared sad in the way her waves of black hair hung over her narrow face and soft eyes. She was dressed now in a simple linen shirt, with waves of multicolored skirts (the traditional Gypsy woman way of dress) that pooled around her narrow frame. Although it made her lovelier, it also made her appear frailer then she already was. She looked very small in Vlad's arms, and this appealed to his gentlemanly nature. He wanted very much to stroke her cheek and stare into her blue eyes and just rest in her arms. Vlad licked his lips at this uncomfortable revelation and stepped away from her.

"Well?" He chimed, careful to keep his voice playful. "What was this emergency?"

"First off, you must apologize to Intessar for me." Anne countered, looking towards the door. "I don't mean to upset her so, but Feodor…"

"Feodor?" Vlad asked, his voice becoming steely. "What is he doing this time? I've warned him about trying anything…he didn't threaten you, did he?"

"No, I'm fine. He knows better then to touch me." Anne comforted him weakly. Vladislaus knew Anne feared Feodor and that Fedor took great pleasure from this. Vlad was struck however about how reserved Anne looked as she pushed the fear out of her mind and looked at him. "But he has been spreading fear through the villagers."

"About whatever the women are trying to scare away? What is it Anne? Do you know?"

Anne looked down at her hands. "The people are saying it is a possessed man who steals through the woods during a full moon and attacks those who are out. Three people have already been found torn apart."

"A madman." Vladislaus folded his arms over his chest and favored Anne with a slightly scolding look. "If that's all, I'll send scouts through the forest. They'll find him and we'll take care of it."

"It's more then that. I know it is. He's a cursed man, Vlad. A demon that takes the form of a wolf…" She began.

"Anne, stop." Vladislaus cool exterior faltered for a brief second as Anne's words sunk him. Uneasily now, he shifted and leaned against her bed. "You are an educated woman, I won't have you scared by childish bedtime stories."

"I know the difference between shadows and monsters, Vladislaus! It was a werewolf. I know it. I've seen it." Anne rebuked angrily. Bowing her head, Anne inhaled quickly and toyed with the necklace she was wearing. Vlad shifted but had quieted his rebukes so she pressed on. "The women are saying a Witch has brought it here, and that it'll obey her wishes. They have said they see the Witch, dancing under the moon to conjure the creature and say that she…" Anne inhaled uneasily, searching for some way to give Vlad news he would not like. "They are saying she's a foreigner, Vlad. They're blaming Tessa."

"Intessar?" Vlad exclaimed as he straightened up. "Intessar wouldn't hurt anyone and you know it!"

"I do know that, Vlad." Anne whispered as she stepped nearer to him, "But the people do not." She wrapped her arms around his and was surprised when leaned into her again, resting his head on hers. His eyes closed and body slumped slightly, as if he very much longed to rest in her arms, in these quiet rooms and forget everything that was outside. "These people ruled by fear and superstition and for better or worst, these are your people and they trust you. Guard Intessar, but do not turn a blind eye to your people's fears or your enemies will use it to destroy you."

"And should I fear men who cower in corners and under cloaks?" Vlad asked angrily. "I am Vladislaus Dracula and I will fear no man!"

"Then your pride shall be your undoing!" Vladislaus pushed away from her and walked to the door but paused right before it. He bowed his head, lost in thought and despite her iron will, Anne felt her heart soften. She walked to him but was careful not to touch him. She would not accept her husband's affection in a moment of weakness because she could not bear being a woman of convenience for him. She loved him too much to be a whim in his eyes; she could not accept such a fate. Quietly, she opened her door, raised her chin and motioned Vlad to leave. "Yours is a hard, and terrible life, my husband." She whispered. "But it is your life, and we need you to live it. You cannot fail us."

"I can't do this," Vlad whispered. "I'm no hero, no ruler of men. I'm a soldier, I lead armies to destruction, and create death and I'm good at it. What do I know of life?"

"You know how precious it is to protect. Start from there." Anne lifted his chin with the edges of her fingers till he met her eyes. She smiled at him and allowed all the love and awe she had for him to shine through her face to assure him in the only way a woman can. "You are Vladislaus Dracula and no enemy shall conquer you."


	4. Secret Places

**Author's Note: thanks to Aku Maru for her help on this chapter from hell. I owe her a lot, including Irvan and Kuso who's about to make my crossover fic "Monster" even funner. (Yes, that was a shameless plug to read my Harry Potter/Van Helsing fic- go on, read it!) Leave a review, pardon the mistakes and thanks for reading!**

**Chapter Four: Secret Places **

"Close the door, Gabriel."

Gabriel nodded and began to shut it behind him, "Yes milady…"

"Don't leave." Intessar called to him. She was watching him from behind her thin veil with those wide brown eyes of hers. "Come in for a while. Please, don't go."

"Why not?"

"I'm lonely." She whispered as she turned away from him to walk to the small wardrobe. Her room was simple with pale walls bare of any decoration. There was a small bed, and trunk at the end of it that had blankets folded over it to keep her warm during the cold winters. The only window was facing west, and Gabriel knew it faced towards Mecca by the small prayer rug that was before it. She had a small closet, and beside it a desk filled with papers and books. It paled in comparison to his rooms, which were also humble, and was downright meager when set aside Vladislaus, Anne or any other of the family's rooms.

Not that Intessar minded. She only slept here once or twice a week.

"…I don't think it's proper." He began uneasily.

Intessar laughed, "I am but a servant here, and you a lord. None of the servants would question you."

"I didn't mean to everyone else." He whispered. "I meant to Vlad."

Intessar laughed again, this time bitterly as she turned away from him and undid her veil. Gabriel blinked in surprise, although he knew very little about Islam, he was quite certain what she was doing was strictly against her religion. But still the vision before him was captivating.

Her back was still turn to him as she dropped the veil to her feet and began to undo the thick outer robes till only a thin linen negligee over her body. He swallowed deeply now, but found he could not tear his eyes away from this. Her body was beautiful and full, with wide hips and strong legs. Her waist led up to a strong back and arms that went dutifully about pulling out a rust colored dress. Gabriel could see now that she was dark skinned but not black like an African. Instead her color was a light brown, like a Moroccan or Arab with just the slightest touch of olive to her skin. Her hair was thick, curly and chocolate and cut to her shoulders. As if she sensed him watching her, she turned and smiled at him with those full lips that were painted, and her brown eyes danced with mirth.

_She's enjoying this_, he realized and swallowed down the idea.

"Do you think I am beautiful, Christian?" She asked as she slid the red dress over her frame.

Gabriel was glad that at least some of the diversion was hidden now. He inhaled carefully and looked up. "I think you're a very fine woman, Tessa."

"But you are not attracted to me?" She pressed, walking towards him. Her hands reached over and patted his cheek, sliding down over his shoulders and observing him intently. "You know I have watched these years we were together and your eyes rarely leave me."

"I…I didn't realize…" Gabriel began weakly. "I…I'm sorry."

"I don't think you are." Intessar said simply as she went to her trunk and pushed the blankets unto her bed. "I think you enjoy watching me and Vlad together." She looked over at him, smiling a coy smile. "Especially Vlad." She picked out a dark brown veil and began to walk towards him. "Thou shall not covet thy neighbor, Gabriel...or his possessions. Isn't that what your God says?"

"I don't know what you're implying, Tessa." He said shortly. He felt his temper rising and tried unsuccessfully to quell it. "I love Vlad and would never…"

"I know." She countered. "In fact, I think you love Vladislaus more then you're comfortable with."

"Why do you say such things?"

"To warn you that I will not tolerate another competitor. I have Anne to deal with, I will not fight you as well."

"I am not your enemy, Tessa. I never was. Don't make me into someone you or Vlad have to fight against."

"I can't tell if you're ignoring the truth or just naïve." She replied. "Don't you see that Vlad and I already have to fight against everything that you stand for? In his heart, Vladislaus is pagan, I am Muslim; we are lovers out of wedlock and for the most part…are content with this. You are Christian, and pious. These Crusades…your wars that have waged on my people for centuries, you believe with your whole heart in them. We see only the waste. Don't you understand? You are a noble, decent man in your right, but your very being is in direct war with what we- what Vladislaus is. Your friendship cannot and will not last…"

Gabriel tore away from her. "You're wrong." He said mainly to prove it to himself then to her. He wanted to hear the words, to feel them on his tongue and see if he could believe them. He didn't like his answer. "You're wrong. I won't fail Vlad."

"It's not about failing him, Gabriel." She tried again, in a softer tone. She reached for him and shrunk back as he jerked away violently. "It's not about what you want or don't want…it's just how things are, how they're suppose to be. You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved. I'm trying to warn you…if you care for your Vlad, do not try and be his hero. Just be his friend. That's what he needs from you."

"I have to go," Gabriel said, quietly. "The Church is holding a Mass in honor of our return. I better go find him and get ready."

"Gabriel…please…"

"Goodbye milady." Gabriel said firmly as he turned and walked out of her room slowly. She watched him as he disappeared down the hall and had never seen such sorrow in a man.

It was like a man who had lost all hope…

**xxxxx**

****

The forests surrounding Vaseria were thick and dark, and willing to totally envelope any visitor. There had been stories in the olden days that if one traveled too far into them, they'd reach the end of the world and hell itself. Desperate to escape the cares and worries of this life, Vladislaus was tempted to test this theory. Leaning closer the head, Vlad whipped the side of his horse, beating it to run faster. He could feel the horse's muscles under him under the thin coat of fine black hair, tensing and flexing as they propelled the horse and rider to their destined end. The horse was panting from exertion, and sweat began to drip from the coat, mixing with Vlad's own sweat and only added to his sense of urgency, of escape. And still Vladislaus pushed him deeper into the forest. The pounding of the hoofs underneath echoed in his ears, and the wind made Vlad narrow his eyes in defense but still he pushed the horse. The pale sunlight was beginning to fade as the canopy grew thicker, and the forest became darker. The animals so natural in the forest began to grow silent as well, as if they knew Vladislaus was like a man outrunning the Devil and knew it wise to stay out of his way.

And he rode till the sun had been almost completely blocked by the trees and the trails had become overgrown and thorny which forced the horse to slow it's speed until it came to an uncertain trot, stepping over exposed roots and ducking under swooping branches until Vladislaus had arrived at the end of the world.

The Romany altar.

Slowly, reverently, Dracula dismounted and began his serious descent towards the altar.

Made really out of nothing more then round, semi-flat gray stones stacked on top of the other, it resembled a table with sunken basin in the middle. Sprigs and smudges of sage, rosemary and thyme hung drying over the mantle, their dead aroma reaching Vlad even at a distance. Trails of dark red, resembling rust, dripped from the basin downward, towards the grown where the blood of the animal sacrifices had pooled with the earth below. Within the basin were the soft gray remains of wood, and bone, remaining perfectly in form until the tip of Vlad's fingers touched them and they shattered, spreading the ash towards the heavens.

Vlad rubbed his eyes against tears, and sweat and turned back to the horse. The black stallion snorted at him, and turned its head towards the path it had just come as if to assure him he'd stand guard while Vlad visited with the only things that could give him comfort now. He smiled gratefully at the horse, and pulled off his gloves, tucking them into his coat and falling to his knees before the altar.

"Great Goddess," He prayed. "My mother, and advisor. I come to you now when I need your guidance most. Anne is scared and Intessar in danger. I come home from war to find demons in my own lands. Haven't I waged war enough, Mother? Is this how you repay your son? After all I have done to keep your laws and lands safe from the Christians? After I have protected your ways in my heart, you would released such dreams on our people?"

He turned his head from the altar as if ashamed to be chastising her but he pressed on. He was tired, and the campaigns in Jerusalem had been hard. The Muslims had attacked their encampment with added vigor and had taken Gabriel. For the two days, Vladislaus had been without Gabriel had been hell for him. He had taken no drink, no food, and no comfort. He had forbidden Intessar to come near him. He would have no comfort as long as Gabriel was gone. His actions had surprised even himself. Dracula had never been a man to let circumstances dictate his actions but facing the thought of losing Gabriel had haunted him more then defeat on the battlefield or even lost of life. He had been his one, true advisor and friend since Vlad had returned from Spain. Vlad was lost without him.

"Goddess," He began again. "Our ways are passing, but still the demons remain. Perhaps this will always be so. It is a mystery simple men like me are not meant to know and I accept that. Your wisdom is whole and your mercy enough for me. But I must ask you this one thing. Watch my feet as I go into this. I am not prepared. Be with my counsel and me as we face this…please, Mother. Watch over and love Gabriel as you would a faithful son." Dracula smiled a soft, teasing smile. "He doesn't know any better."

Standing, Vladislaus regarded the decrepit altar one last time and made a mental note the come Samhain; he would come back to the shrine and rebuild it. He would show the Goddess that his devotion to her had not passed even though he took Christian vows.

Christian vows…

Vlad felt his heart sink in his chest as he remembered. The Church was holding a special Mass for his return. His father, a pious Christian, would be very upset if his already frowned upon son was late _again. _Not to mentioned he'd never hear the end of it from Gabriel, Anne, Catherine or the youngest of the brood, mini-Valerious. Inwardly, Dracula winced again.

"Mary, forgive me." He muttered to the altar again as he spun on his heels and ran back to his horse. "Because your Son will kill me."

He was about to kick off when he heard a twig snap from across the clearing, turning on his heels he cursed under his breath as he saw Gabriel on his own horse watching him with a haunted look. Vlad felt his heart sinking. "Gadjo…I can explain"

"It's late." Gabriel whispered in a dark, depressed tone. "Too late for explaining." He turned his mare and clicked his tongue. "Come on, the Priest will kill us if sneak in when the service starts."

Vladislaus followed suit with his horse, as he hurried to Gabriel's side. He wanted desperately to say something to his friend but found the words would not come. So he merely bowed his head and rode in silence beside his friend.


	5. Holy Ground

**Chapter Five: Holy Ground**

The benedictions and songs that evening made Gabriel sick to his stomach. He felt dizzy and worn as he had those nights in the Muslim prison but this time the knowledge that Dracula was no longer going to come and make it better brought despair to the torture. His entire body ached, and he felt cold beside Vladislaus, shying away from his friend's touch for the first time in his life. The ring on his finger burned Gabriel pulled it off and tucked it into Dracula's hand.

"Here," He whispered, "I have no use for this."

Vladislaus turned and watched him but said nothing. His hurt, confused look made Gabriel faint and he almost stumbled, feeling his will to remain firmly against Vlad fading.

Until he felt his aunt's hand on his opposite arm and knew everything would be better. He turned and met Catherine's all-knowing eyes. She leaned closer to him and stroked his cheek, lovingly and gave him a look that promised a private meeting. Gabriel's heart rose in his chest. She would help him as she always had. But he would have to wait.

For now, as the congregation was released, he and Vladislaus would have to present themselves to Count Valerious Dracul, called the Dragon.

Valerious was a strong well-made man whose body had begun to wax. Once hale and hearty, the great Warlord who had been King Casimir's prized soldier was old now and many years past the age most men should see a glorious end. Age was hard on noble men, but even harder on soldiers who were ill accustomed to being forgotten and no longer of use to their realm or adopted cause. Now his face was brown, old and weather-beaten, with thick lines that ran down his cheeks and dimmed his eyes. Deep scars, so deep they cut through his full beard were visible and always made Gabriel shutter. Valerious had his thick paw of a hand on his youngest son's head.

Valerious the Younger was as a source of pride and much attention from both his parents and it was easy to know why. Valerious was fair as his father was coarse. Handsome beyond his seven year, Valerious had the easy grace and delicate features of nobility from his mother Catherine. Put beside his elder brother Vladislaus, one could not tell they were related for Vlad too favored his mother's features.

And Gabriel had always assumed that secretly Vladislaus' resemblance to Meriya, both in appearance and devotion to the old ways, had been a source of tension between Vlad and his father, the Dragon.

"Whelp!" Dracula's clear voice broke through Gabriel's thought as he side-stepped just in time to avoid being caught by Vladislaus charging to find his little brother. He swooped Valerious into his arms and spun the boy till his childish laughter rang through the church. "Whelp, come here! Look how you've grown! My, you're almost as tall as me! Pretty soon I'll have to lock you away or you might steal Anne from me!"

Valerious smiled at his brother, and then stepped back into Anne's arms. Anne laughed as she wrapped her arms over his shoulders. She looked up and grinned at Vlad. "He's already taken me from you, my husband. Since you and Gabriel are always out making your war, little Val here is the only one who will go riding with me." She looked down. "Isn't that right, Valeri?"

He smiled, "I am going to usurp you, brother. Take your lands and your wife!"

Dracula narrowed his eyes, playfully in challenge. "A civil war it is, brother!"

"No wars shall be claimed in the House of God." Cried a cold voice as the Priest approached. Vlad rolled his eyes in disgust and stepped farther away from the coming Priest and it took everything in Gabriel not to pull him back to his place.

Father Kolos was a severe looking man, and even more so when dressed in his priestly garb. His robes were fine and white, with gold lace arching around the hem and cuffs. He carried a large Shepard's staff and with his hat seemed to give him confidence enough to carry himself as if he were the Pope himself. Gabriel knew Vladislaus despised Kolos and quite simply Gabriel didn't blame him. Kolos was a stern man with a large hooked nose that was always quick to blame misfortune on the sins of his heathen congregation. He cared nothing for the Romany he led, and inwardly despised the fact he had been sent to such an out of the way parish.

And behind Kolos was Feodor, Catherine's firstborn son and Gabriel's cousin, another of Vladislaus' adversaries. Feodor smiled at Gabriel pleasantly through the auburn hair that hung over his face and moved pass Kolos with a respectful nod, before pulling Gabriel into a tight embrace.

"Kolos had talked to sent letters to Court on your behalf," Feodor whispered into Gabriel's ear as he hung heavy arms around his cousin's frame.

Gabriel took great pains not to wince, even as Feodor's weight stung his still tender wounds. "Oh, Cousin?"

Feodor nodded. "Kolos has pulled some strings with the King's Archbishop, and they've secured an appointment with you at the Holy See."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Catherine called happily. "Gabriel finally, you can back to your priestly studies."

"Oh?" Gabriel repeated, only half-listening to his family's words. He was frowning as he watched Kolos approach Vladislaus and his brother. Dracula had playfully taken Valerious on a spar and the two brothers were dancing around in a small circle, shadow boxing in the middle of the Church.

"You should keep closer watch on your son, Valerious Dracul." Kolos hissed in his silky voice. "Vladislaus seems to care only for his wars and Muslims."

"It's not my war, Kolos." Vlad called as he stopped. His brother had stopped too, and nervously returned to Anne's arms. "It's yours. Pope Pius has charged me with this holy quest to burn babies in their mother's arms and make Kingdoms that have stood for thousands of years into salt. It is Pius who requires me to destroy the works of great men…in the name of God."

"Blasphemer!" Kolos cried. If he had meant to say more, it was cut short by the sharp sound and thud that followed as Valerious Dracul struck his son with the mighty paw of a hand. Dracula stumbled against the wall. He looked up, startled and scared, at his father as he touched gingerly his bleeding lip. Gabriel made a move forward but felt Catherine grip his shoulder tightly.

"This is not your fight, Gabriel." Feodor whispered into his ear. "This is between father and son."

"Apologize, son!" The Dragon demanded in his cold, throaty voice. "You may damn your soul with words like that."

"Father, I'll not endure…"

"You will endure!" He hissed. "You are to be ruler of Vaseria and I will not have you leading an example of blasphemy against the church. I fought too long to ensure peace to have it destroyed by a spoiled child!"

Dracula's eyes were ablaze as he struggled to contain the anger that seeped from him like a dark cloak. The air itself seemed to change to facilitate the Count's mood, chilling and becoming stale. He made a motion towards Kolos that caused the Priest to back step, almost in fear and only then did Vladislaus realize himself. He became aware of the eyes watching him (especially that of his brother's) and swallowed hard. He turned to his father, and bowed deeply even as his cheeks began to burn with humiliation and turned to Kolos to bow curtly to him as well. "Forgive me, Father." He struggled out the words and Gabriel could swear Dracula's eyes were watering. "I am tired from my travels. I have barely returned from the battle and am weary."

"No excuse," Kolos growled, now smug with the knowledge that the Dragon was on his side. "But I shall pray tonight to our Holy Father that he finds it in his heart to teach you the respect that will save your soul."

"Pray to the great Mother as well." He muttered. "That she in her grace will embrace me as a son."

Anne looked nervously at Gabriel who turned away, leaning closer to Catherine. Anne blinked, surprised but swallowed. "Husband," Anne called, walking forward and ignoring Kolos and the Dragon's steely glares. She bowed deeper then her husband who still had his eyes downcast, and wrapped an arm around his back. "Husband come…I grow tired of the air."

Kolos frowned and jutted his hand out. "Kiss the ring, and take my blessing…"

Dracula looked up with a glare, shaking from the anger that he could still not control. His cheek was beginning to bruise from his father's swipe. Gabriel knew his pride could not take much more of this and he longed to reach out and take it away.

As it would turn out, Anne beat him. Bowing deeply again, this time spouting out praise she leaned over and took Kolos' hand into her own and kissed it gently.

"Thank you for your mercy on your humble daughter, Father." She cried in a voice of sincere piety or at least, it sounded sincere. Kolos was frowning again, clearly having meant the sign of humbleness for Dracula but before he could clarify it. Anne had taken her husband's arm firmly and pulled him out of the church. "Come, Father Valerious, little Valerious. It is a beautiful day for a walk."

Catherine was laughing behind her hand as she pulled Gabriel away from Kolos, with Feodor on their heels. She looked back at Kolos' dour expression then turned to Gabriel, taking his arm in one arm and Feodor's in another. "Vladislaus doesn't deserve that girl."

"That is the least of what Vlad doesn't deserve." Feodor countered. He glanced at Gabriel's scowl and laughed. "And he certainly doesn't deserve your devotion, cousin."

"He saved my life in Jerusalem." Gabriel said shortly. "I owe him a lot."  
"You were both soldiers. It was his duty…and if it wasn't for his brazen actions, you wouldn't have gotten capture in the first place."

"How did you know I was captured?"

"I told him." Catherine frowned. "I know many things, and especially in regards to my family. If he hadn't…"

"Can we talk about something else, Aunt?" Gabriel whispered.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried about him…" He inhaled. "But I'm tired of worrying. Let us just talk as a family for a while. Keep the Valerious family out if for at least a short while." And of course, Gabriel turned his eyes back towards the opposite exit where Vlad and his family had exited. He could see them in his mind's eye. Valerious running ahead, while Anne walked with the elder Valerious and stealing glances at her husband who, refusing comfort, was sulking behind them. His heart shifted again and he cursed himself for his weakness. "I want to leave here, Catherine." He suddenly deadpanned. "I want to go far away from here."

Catherine's eyes dimmed, even as her lips curled into a smile. "If that is what you wish, of course, nephew. You can begin your journey to the Holy City day after tomorrow."

"Thank you, Catherine…forgive me. It's just with the paranoia we've come into and the prison…I just can't handle anything else. I'm so tired."

Whatever Gabriel was going to add was cut short by the shrill, panicked cry of a woman in the town's square. He felt Feodor grab his arm and hold him firmly in place as those in the Church as they were turned to glimpse outside. There was another scream, this time a child's yell, and then the harsh voices of men calling to one another. Gabriel paled for a second, remembering all his nightmares before the only words that could have spurred him to action was yelled.

"Men, to Arms!" Cried a thick voice. "Valerious blood has been spilled! It's the Count!"


	6. Vaseria Town Square

**Author's Note: Wow…updated the same story twice within a week. Scary. Damn the summer for its boredom. This is unedited but I'll make it better one day yadda, yadda and remember folks: Every time you review, a Vampire gets his wings!**

**Chapter Six: Vaseria Town Square**

At first Gabriel had thought this was one of his nightmares. It all seemed typical of dreams: the surreal nature of the scene that clung to Gabriel like cold sweat, the distant screaming, the way the blood turned Vaseria's gray dirt to mud and most of all the idea that anyone could fell the mighty Valerious family. Four members of Vladislaus' elite guard had formed a circle around the family but having just exited from church most were unarmed, those who were carried makeshift short swords that appeared to have been taken from the attackers. As Gabriel pushed into the town square, he threw back onlookers and struggled against frantic women who were screaming in Romany to their Count or their Gods Gabriel couldn't tell. Kolos had followed him too, probably out of curiosity rather then concern and had Gabriel a sword, he would have run Kolos through for no other reason the sheer anger and disgust.

"Stelian!" Gabriel shouted to the first man he recognized. "Let me through!"

Stelian looked up, panic-stricken but relieved to see him. He pushed aside another foot soldier to grab firmly Gabriel and bring him into the clearing.

Jenci, the family's physician, was squatting on the ground beside Count Valerious. His hands ran over the Dragon's body searching for wounds. Gabriel winced at the sight of so much blood running from man that he worried he was already lost. Valerious the Younger was in Anne's lap as she sat on the floor, rocking the crying child trying to comfort him. She had a nasty wound on her cheek that she was ignoring demanding everyone else do the same until someone had tended to her father-in-law.

And Vladislaus Dracula was standing with the support of Nicolae, one of his lieutenants. Vlad looked winded, and the bruise on his cheek was now compounded with a busted lip and more importantly, a wound to the ribcage that he was ignoring.

"Count Dracula," Stelian called, "Gabriel has come!"

But Vladislaus was not paying attention to him. His full attention rested on three black hooded men that were on their knees before him. Two other men lay unceremoniously where they had been killed (one was almost complete decapitated.) Gabriel put his hand on Stelian's shoulder to keep him from calling again. There was something in Dracula's eyes that had never been there before and rather then have it disappear again into some corner of his soul, Gabriel wanted to see what would be birthed from it.

"Unmask him." Vlad told Nicolae quietly at first, then once more with feeling. "Unmask him!"

"Yes sire."

There was a series of gasps that followed as Nicolae pulled off the black hood to reveal the rugged, worn face of Vladislaus' first in command and mentor, Grigore. Grigore was as old as Vlad's father, and had served with the Dragon on the campaigns that had made him a Count. He was also the man who had taught Vladislaus everything he knew of combat and nobility. It was uncertain what emotion tore Vladislaus' face: pain, shock or pure hatred.

"Why?" Dracula said after a time. He looked weaker now, and his arm found Nicolae's shoulders to steady him. Nicolae complied and snaked an arm around Dracula's waist. "Why would you do this?"

"It's not against you, Dracula." Grigore whispered, looking down at the Count's feet. "But rather the demons that have overtaken your home. The Valerious family has grown fat on Hungarian gifts and favors, have forgotten their ways to become like Casimir." He turned, glaring at Gabriel. "Have taken their Europeans into their confidences and forgotten what it is like to be Romany! You have given room for Satan to enter our lands. Your family's greed and arrogance have brought the Mulo' to us, it can only be taken away by your family's atonement."

Dracula blinked and for a moment stood mute. Gabriel knew the words must have stung Vladislaus but there was no way Dracula would admit it. Not here. Here he was Count Dracula and now, with one well-placed wound, he had become the ruler of the Gypsy settled in and around Vaseria. His eyes never left Grigore but Gabriel knew he was keenly studying the crowd.

It was precarious place for Dracula and everyone there knew it. Grigore was closer to Vlad then his father, but has actions had gone to show just how desperately afraid these people had become because of the Demon that lurked around the city. If Vladislaus showed mercy to Grigore, it would show weakness, something everyone present would see and what rivals may turn into opportunities. But there was no one beside Gabriel that was closer to Dracula then Grigore. What pain must have been lurking behind his cold brown eyes, Gabriel could not begin to imagine.

"Such a rare and worthy man." Dracula began in barely a whisper. "To have put such a judgment on me and mine. You must have seen God Himself Grigore, to know that it the only way to protect our people from this monster is by my death…by my family's death!" This last part was barked out and everyone flinched, never having seen Dracula so cold…so inhuman. "Therefore, you shall share in our savior's path." He had begun to pale now, shaking and looking near collapse.

Jenci had eased Count Valerious into a carriage with Anne and the boy and was walking slowly to Vlad. He made a movement to take him away Nicolae but Dracula struck him with the back of his hand, causing the surgeon to stumble back.

The Dragon sigil ring had left an imprint on Jenci's cheek, and clearly rattled the doctor now remained quiet till Count Dracula had finished his proclamation.

"Stelian, Imre?"

"Yes sire." Both foot soldiers called in unison.

"Take Grigore and his avenging angels and impale them over the Church's grounds for all to see."

"You will not shed blood on holy ground!" Kolos shouted, walking forward.

But Dracula would hear none of this. He had already turned away. "Come now Father," He coaxed. "It is as Grigore said. My family must make atonements…and therefore I offer his and his accomplishes up to God. Let it wash my sins away."

He favored Kolos with an icy glare that dared the Father to rebuttal. Kolos bowed out wisely, leaving Dracula to recline his head on Nicolae's neck and whisper slowly. "Now you may attend to me, Jenci." He shut his eyes and allowed his body to slump against Nicolae's; assured the Captain of the Guard would catch him as he fell. A small smile graced Dracula's features. "Take me home, Nico."

"Yes sire."

Gabriel was frowning, but exactly why was a good question. He inhaled quickly and followed Nicolae and Dracula. "How wise our patron Count is!" He called. "That he would murder old men who have dreams rather then face the truth."

The people stopped again, eyes darting quickly between Dracula as he stopped, but didn't turn. "What truth is that?"

"That Dracula has lost his way!" Gabriel called. "He has damned his soul for notoriety, for his own pleasures. He will rule by fear, they will say, not by wisdom!"

Dracula turned now and studied Gabriel. He felt his resolve vaporize with one look into Vlad's pained eyes but held his ground. To renege on this point would cost more then his reputation. Dracula's proclamation was murder, not only for Grigore but also Vladislaus. His people were already frightened of monsters; they had to be assured their ruler was not one.

Somehow, Gabriel had to prove that. Here, now, in front of everyone. Let Dracula be angered, he thought, let his pride be hurt but not his soul. One act of tyranny could lead to another and Gabriel had to make Dracula see that.

"I earn my rule by the blood I shed for my people." Dracula said, hand falling to his side to the newest of his wounds. "And my rule shall not be questioned by any man who has never tasted battle but chooses to hide behind his dreams instead."

That was a direct attack against Gabriel, and he flinched from it. "Has Dracula known to much of war, that he will lead women and children through fields of blood?"

"If it means protecting them from monsters?" Dracula asked softly. "Yes." Then, his eyes deadened suddenly. He looked away from Gabriel's gaze and mounted his horse. "And if it must be, I will do it alone." He said slowly. Looking down, he whispered something into Nicolae's ear before leaning against the horse and taking off towards the Manor.

Nicolae walked slowly to Gabriel and bowed before pulling him by the arm against the Church, out of earshot from everyone else. Gabriel exhaled the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Nico, you have to talk him, this ruling will do more harm then good…" Having paid lip service now, Gabriel's concern with Vlad's political well being ended there. "Now tell me, how is he?" Silence. "It's not bad is it?" Nicolae was looking down. "Damn you, Nico, tell me!"

"He has told me to relay a message, sir." Nicolae said slowly, never looking up. "He says that if ever you question his commands or rulings in public again, you will find yourself accompanying Grigore."

Gabriel stepped back. His mind was swimming now, both with Intessar's words, the scene in the Forest and then this revelation. Something was wrong. There were other forces at work here. He knew that now. Whatever monster was frightening the villagers was indeed been invoked by some black magic. Black magic that was not working its will on Vladislaus. There was nothing else to explain it. But he wondered who would go to such lengths just to damn one man and why Vlad?

"Nephew?" Catherine's voice called from his side. He turned, not realizing she was there. Her eyes watched him sadly. "Nephew, don't be troubled."

"How can I not be?" He asked. "He needs me the most now but I fear I cannot go to him."

"His pride is injured." Feodor supplied, quietly. "Things like that take longer to heal. Until then be patient and he will return to you."

"I hope so." He bowed to them both. He touched Catherine's hands. " You'll be wanting to check on Count Valerious so I won't keep you aunt." He kissed her cheek. "I'll be there shortly."

Feodor wrapped his arms around Catherine thoughtfully. "I told you it'd be enough to split those two up."

"And I still think you're underestimating their love for one another." Catherine retorted. "But, you've instilled doubts in Gabriel, that'll be enough for now. I continue working on him, convincing him that Vlad has gone mad…you just make sure the people remained afraid."

"I won't have too. A few days with Grigore up there rotting, and they'll be primed."

"Good. Then work on Kolos. We need him or all this goes is for nothing."

"Calm down, woman!" Feodor said, laughing. He leaned in and kissed his mother. "You'll get wrinkles."

Catherine looked up at him and smiled. He was right of course. They had made this plan full proof and it was going to work out wonderfully.

Thank the Devil.


	7. Out of Favor

Author's Note: Thanks to Aku Maru who always allows me to bug her. She's the Patron Saint of Vampires and has somehow converted me back to these fanged buggies of the night. Love to Amissa who made me sympathetic to the wolves' plight as well. Read, review and hopefully I answered one of your questions J and I'm working on the other one. As for the ring/hand placement, it's normal behavior for people to switch hands every once in a while…go with it. I had to take some writer's liberty.

**Chapter Seven: Out of Favor**

The screams were overwhelming and stank was enough to make grown men become ill in public. The Church was abandoned now; as Grigore and his two accomplishes rotted, joined by now with at least six other men: the children and brothers of the would-be assassins. It had taken days to die, but their bodies were still now, spirits having fled to either Heaven or Hell, and only the stench remained. But still the women of these men had clustered around the bottom of the long pikes screaming and beating their chest, pulling their hair and screaming to God or Goddess for a reprieve that would not come. Now there was talk of damnation.

The old men spoke in hushed tones about atonement and accountability while the old women, with their black arts and ability to glimpse the future, spoke of Monsters that would come over this land and cast a black shadow that would perhaps never be removed.

And Valerious Manor was a home, besieged.

"The town looks empty." Gabriel said quietly. He was tired and drawn and his whole body ached from lack of food or sleep. He ran his hands over his dry, tired face and took another drink of the liquor he was holding. "Hell must be out in full force tonight."

"I don't think it needs to be." Anne whispered as she entered the room. She was carrying a basin in her hands, and motioned deftly to the table beside Gabriel's bed. "Lay down, take off your shirt."

"Why? It doesn't matter." He said softly.

"It matters to me, Gadjo."

Gabriel smiled at her sadly before walking towards the bed. "Vlad says it better."

"Vlad does everything better."

He removed his shirt and looked at her. She met his eyes for a while before looking down, blushing from his attention. Gabriel regretted his thoughts a moment after and looked down before crawling unto the bed and revealing his torn, half-healed back to Anne. He heard the Countess gasp and shifted uneasily on the bed. "It doesn't hurt, milady." He lied.

"The Moors did this?" She asked, breathlessly.

Gabriel nodded. "They swept in during the night, looking for Vlad. Grigore and I barely had to grab him before they were in the camp. Imre tried to rally the guard but there was too much chaos. I saw Bela, and Peter struck down before they even had time to draw their sword. Nicolae was able to dismount some of them but there were too many…" He paused and looked away from a moment. "I told Grigore to take Vladislaus and run. I thought I was being smart. I took Vlad's robe and his ring and put them on, ran out to the Moors on his charger, all heroic like..." Gabriel's voice broke as Anne touched one of the small, oddly shaped scars that peppered his back.

"You got these because they thought you were Vlad?"

"No, they figured out quickly I wasn't him." He whispered. "These I got for protecting him."

"Does he know?"

"He rescued me…but no, he doesn't." Gabriel pushed himself up as he felt Anne tie off the last of his fresh bandages. "And he won't. He has too much to worry about without thinking about his suffering friends."

"Or loved ones." Anne whispered as she pushed herself off the bed and walked gingerly to the windows. Gabriel frowned as he watched the stiffness of her joints, and the grimness with which she held herself and an arm around her waist, cradling herself.

"What happened, Anne?" Gabriel prodded. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine…what's happened?"

Anne turned back, her face haunted. "He's finally taken his right as husband concerning me."

Gabriel felt like he had been struck. "Anne…I'm sorry."

"He's not his fault, Gabriel. Please don't blame him…it doesn't hurt and I'm not ashamed…"

"Anne, don't you understand what's going on? This isn't Vlad, he's sick…"

"I won't hear this, Gabriel. Not from you too. I won't…"

"He's not well and you know it!"

"No, I don't!" Anne shouted, she wasn't angry with him and in denial. She was quite simply tired. The stress of suddenly becoming the Lady of the house was wearing on her, Gabriel could sense it, and with these matters were Catherine, a dying still father-in-law near and a husband who was going mad. He surprised she had even been composed this long. She looked back at him, drew up her dignity and soothed her hair. "I know the rumors, and I know the fears but I also know my husband…and he is not responsible for this. He would never harm me, his family or the people of Vaseria. He is our Lord and the last thing he needs is those who love him double guessing him. Understand?"

Gabriel swallowed and nodded. "Yes, milady."

The knock on the door caused them both to jump but it was Gabriel who feared it most. Anne was nobility, protected by her status and Vlad's innate Gypsy roots. He was not so lucky. Vlad's recent madness had turned Vlad against Gabriel and since that day and Nicolae's warning, Gabriel had feared that one day he would see Nicolae appear at his door to add him to Grigore's company.

This fear was compounded when the door opened and submitted Stelian.

"Count Dracula requests your presence." Stelian began softly. Gabriel ran his eyes over the boy's thin armor and looked up questioningly. Stelian looked up with his own fear-streaked eyes into Gabriel's. "The full moon is up." He told him. "We are on the hunt for the werewolf."

"And what does the Count need with me?" Gabriel forced out.

Anne stepped forward. "He is no soldier. Gabriel is Vlad's advisor…he's no use to you in the forest."

"The Count demands his presence." Stelian said again. "He wants his lucky charm with him."

Gabriel smiled thinly. "Duty calls." He said weakly. He turned to Anne and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I will see you soon." He told her, before walking towards Stelian. "…I'll need a sword."

"No armor?"

"I don't plan to fight the Muslims, Stelian. Only demons. Give me a bible and a sword and I'm ready."

"Even angels carry savage weapons." Stelian warned as they walked out.

Anne watched as they disappeared down the hall, and then turned to stare out Gabriel's windows into the cool, dark night. Above them a full, pale moon cast gray light over the city's old, feeble stone homes and made Kolos' stone Cathedral glisten like polished bone. From here Grigore and his accomplices were only thin, black spikes that reached out from the courtyard towards Heaven as if they tried to pierce it.

And somewhere in the deep, thick forest that surrounded Vaseria a wolf pack bayed at the moon and safe in her home, nice and warm, Anne pulled her cloak a little closer to herself.

Blood would be spilled before the night's completion. She knew that as firmly as she knew her name and her God in Heaven. But it was not her God that would protect her husband. It was his Goddess.

"Lady," She whispered in the darkness. "Bring him home to me. If you have any power…bring them home."

* * *

Catherine wore the thick black wool despite the warmth that still hung in the air and had her hair done into a tight plait. The silver that adorned her hand glittered in the moonlight and touched the moonstone and amber that rested about her body. In truth, she didn't believe in these mystical enchantments or their power but whatever might help, she'd utilize. Her Master was great, after all, but fickle and his gifts were bought at a heavy price. So Catherine understood to play this game, as she should her Master's gifts must be used both for his benefit but also her protection against him. In time, she knew the Devil would claim his dues. He always did. But that day was not today.

Tonight, however, the world was hers.

There was a low, throaty growl that brought Catherine away from her reverie and back to the thick, deep woods around her. She pushed down her hood despite her better judgment to give her face some air but it didn't little to sooth her. The air was warm like blood against her and sweat pooled around her crown as she dismounted and crouched low. The hem of her dress caught on exposed roots and the low hanging branches began to snap at her hair. She jumped as she felt cobwebs she could not see brush against her face and yelped.

The creature beside her paused and made a low, deep whine. If Catherine didn't know better, she'd say her son was laughing at her.

It was a tall, fearfully built creation in the stance and form of a man but at the same time lupine and animalistic. Coarse and thick, auburn hair covered the features, over wide upright ears, an elongated snout and deadly looking jaws. The muscles of the chest pulse under the thick fur, and became more pronounced on the legs and arms, each of which exposed black claws that jutted from each digit.

"Feodor." She whispered, stretching out the hand she had devoid of silver and running it over the wolf's underside. The werewolf growled in compliance. "You know are who you are to seek." She told him. "Find Vladislaus, and destroy him."

The wolf arched his back and bayed at the moon.

"And anyone else who stands in your way." She told him.

The wolf growled again, crouched unto all fours legs and bounded away through the thickness. Catherine watched till she was sure she could no longer see him before mounting her horse again. She pulled on her reigns and tried to shake the fear that came with sending out her son into the darkness. She was assured of Feodor's strengths but feared Vlad's vengeance.

"Master." She whispered into the darkness. "Prince of the air. Protect him and bring him home."


	8. Under Providence

**Author's Note: Read and review or I'll never write again. ::smirks:: Enjoy!**

**Chapter Eight: Under Providence **

It was hard for Vladislaus to remain silent and steadfast when all he wanted to do was rest but he knew he must. He was Count Dracula, the general of armies, the patron of Vaseria and protector of his people and he could not deny that duty. If he did, the Romany gathered in and around the city would have no refuge from the people who wanted to destroy them: both Moor, and Christian. If he failed the Goddess would be forgotten and the ways of his people would fade away into shadow. He had to be everything to everyone when all he really wanted to be was brother, husband and one day father.

His thoughts traveled to Anne and silently he cursed himself. He had been drunk that night, and tired and angry and Anne had been warm and soft. In the morning, Anne had risen from his bed, dressed quietly and kissed his forehead before returning to her rooms. He had been sick.

Anger raged inside of him again, curse Anne and her damnable mercy. He didn't deserve to be pitied or forgiven. He had half-hoped she would have ran to Gabriel to avenge her, and then he- Vladislaus' beloved, could bring forth the atonement Grigore had sought. A terrible thought teased Vladislaus' mind. Perhaps he had committed some terrible sin that demanded redress. He only half wondered and half feared what exactly would be the penance.

His horse whinnied as if it sensed something and thankfully, it was enough to break Vlad's musings. He looked down at the horse and smiled. Easing forward to pat his horse's side, he spoke in a tender, loving voice.

"It's okay, Balaam." Vlad soothed. "Just lights and shadow."

"And werewolves."

"Quiet Nicolae, you'll spook him."

"Yes sire."

"To hell with that, I see a wolf and Balaam's the first one to be go."

Vlad smiled to himself as he sat up to look at Gabriel, expecting fully to see Van Helsing's wry smile that had teased him so many times before. Instead, he saw Gabriel's face clouded with uncertainty. He felt another stab of pain and realized that once again, he was Count and no longer the careful man that had once been able to carelessly jab and joke with comrade in arms.

And Gabriel was no longer an friend, and he was barely an ally.

"Would it be wise to feed the horses to the wolf first?" Stelian asked quietly. "Then how would we get out?"

"Good point." Nicolae determined. "We'll feed you to it first."

"What!"

"You're the youngest of us. You're unmarried and undecorated. Nobody will miss you."

"I will." Gabriel assured Stelian, as he reached over and patted the younger boy's shoulder lovingly. Vlad narrowed his eyes and looked away, cursing himself for his weakness and then as a cheap shot.

"So Stelian is the first to knock off, then who?" He asked Nicolae nonchalantly.

"You can't feed me." Gabriel counter, eyes dancing over to Vlad and Nicolae warily. "Catherine would never forgive me."

"He's right, sire."

"Catherine doesn't need to know."

"You're right." Vlad said, decidedly, and nodded. "So Gabriel gets fed next, and then you Nicolae- it should be an honor to die for your Count."

"That's it then." Nicolae grunted.

Stelian nodded. "Vlad's all alone now."

"Without a friend in the world."

"Alas," Vlad attempted to tease, "A ruler must sometimes face his fate alone."

Balaam suddenly reared up as a powerful howl cut through the night. Stelian instinctively reared his horse towards Gabriel's. Nicolae had drawn his sword, and drove his horse in front of Vlad's. His eyes ran over the dark forest hungrily. Gabriel drew his sword, which told Stelian to do the same, while Gabriel's other hand (still gripping the reigns) felt to his single shot pistol. All eyes turned towards Vladislaus for guidance.

Quietly, Vlad muttered a sincere prayer to the Christian for the first time in his life, before straightening up. "I'm going in, Stelian, take the left, Nicolae, the right. Gabriel, I want you to stay here."

Gabriel jerked his horse closer to Vlad's, "Regardless of your feelings for me, I am your best when it comes to close combat. You need me by your side."

"I don't plan to get that close to the wolf, nor will I allow my men to engage it."

"Then how do you plan to kill it?" Gabriel countered. "Use our swords as spears perhaps. I don't know about you, but I haven't played with Javelins since boyhood."

Vlad glared at Gabriel, and surprisingly the man did not back down. Dracula half hoped this came from some sincere devotion on Gabriel's part to him but as soon as he entertained that thought, the truth shined through. Stelian and Nicolae were also endangered here and if there was anything Gabriel would not tolerate, it would be the risk of their lives. Vladislaus felt a swell of disgust towards Gabriel.

Why did he always have to be such a damn hero?

Grunting, he turned Balaam away from Gabriel. "I am your Count, and you will obey me."

"Not when you're letting your anger get the better of you."

"It is not my anger that keeps you here, Gadjo." Vlad whispered, as he began to ride forward. "Nico, Stelian, to your posts…"

"You're making a mistake, Vlad." Gabriel called, staring at Vladislaus as he disappeared into deeper into the black night.

He heard Dracula's voice ring out in return. "I need my Angel alive to guard me, Gabriel."

* * *

The lady was beautiful but somber. Small hands folded in prayer rested against her chest, as she cast her gaze aside, and closed her eyes in humbleness. She wore the dullest of fine blue robes, with a veil of the same gossamer fabric that cascaded down her black hair, down unto her shoulders then down to her back. Gold twanged the corner of her shroud, and decorated with it small, contained stars. She stood on a bed of roses with angels adorning her but still that look of intense sadness overwhelmed her young features.

Intessar paused at the doorway as she regarded the lady, then, to show her honor, she took off her sandals before walking into the small altar. She was so quiet Anne never heard her. Anne was dressed from head to foot in black, a departure from the usual Gypsy style clothing she loved to don, and her small feet were hidden under the hem of her gown. In her hands was a brown rosary, beads dangling between Anne's pale hands. Her face was twisted in pain, her lips moving at a hurried pace over and over in incantation.

"So," Intessar said quietly. "You believe in the Goddess as well."

Anne jumped, looking back. "This is not Del." She murmured, calling the Gypsy goddess by Her name. "But Mary."

"I know who she is. She is the virgin who gave birth to the prophet Jesus."

"Our savior."

"Says you." Intessar teased as she kneeled beside Anne. She spent a long time just looking into Mary's soft face. "Why does she look so sad, Mistress?" Intessar asked quietly. "Doesn't she believe her Son will save the world?"

"Yes." Anne countered, looking up. "But to do that he must die."

"And she has to let that happen?"

"Yes."

"And why do you look so sad?"

"I don't want Vlad to share in Jesus' fate…"

"What? To die and rise again?"

"Just to die."

"You're worried." Intessar deadpanned, and then leaned over, tucking her arm around Anne's shoulders. "Don't worry, he will not leave his brides unattended."

Anne looked over and smiled weakly at Intessar's encouragement. Despite herself, she leaned closer into the Muslim's embrace, brushing her cheeks against her ear. "Or his child."

Intessar felt her heart break but her face did not show her betrayal. Swallowing hard, it took many seconds for her to regain herself. "You will bear his heir?"

Anne nodded softly. "I am late."

Intessar swallowed hard again and readjusted her grip around Anne's shoulders. "Then you hold all our hope within your womb, Milady. Perhaps Godhood does rest in the women."

Anne smiled, regarding Mary. "Do you believe she is Del?"

"In another form, yes."

"Then God or Goddess," Anne whispered. "Let this evil night past…"

Intessar's hands fell over the beads of the rosary, as she took them into her hands. "What do these mean?"

"The large beads symbolize Our Father, the smaller ones…Hail Mary."

"You pray to the mother more then the father."

"Women get things done faster." Anne teased back. She swallowed slightly. "Shall we pray?"

"It's better then wasting time panicking but after this, I'm teaching you how to pray to Allah the Merciful."

There was a beat before Anne nodded. "Alright. It's good that we cover all the basics."

* * *

Nicolae's shrieks pierced the night air like a sword cutting into bone and flesh. Vlad had long since dismounted Balaam, and without thinking, failed to mount again, opting instead to take off in rescue of the man. Stelian's shouts, followed by the charge of what had to be Gabriel, followed a moment afterwards but Vlad was quicker on foot then either of the horsemen. Ducking under branches and avoiding exposed roots, Vlad haphazardly made his way through towards the cleaning Nicolae had been sent to cover.

The sight he encountered froze the very blood in his veins. Nicolae was staring straight him at through deaden eyes, sprawled on his back with his arms spread out in awkward angles. His face was frozen in terror and deathly pale with only a streak of crimson splashed across it. Nicolae's legs were twitching, as nerves refused to die, and even though there was nothing that seemed to connect them to the upper part of Nicolae. Where his stomach should have been was a grisly tattered mess of skin and intestine. White bone jutted up from pure red pieces of exposed flesh, and resting in the midst of this was the creature, chewing on the bones and making a sickening crunching noise as it popped each bone.

Vladislaus began to gag, and choke as he stumbled back in fear and nausea, tripping over his leaden feet and falling with a panicked yelp. He began to vomit, gagging from the sight of so much gore and blood, becoming grimly aware a moment too late that his cry had alerted to the beast to his presence.   
He was aware only of the werewolf's fearsome howl before white-hot pain blinded his senses and threatened to send him into darkness. He felt the animal's jaws tighten around his ribs, piercing bone and flesh. He thought for a moment he heard the wolf scream before he recognized it was his own voice, railing against the night sky. He felt his head loll backwards, as darkness began to creep in.

Then, uncertain if the action was caused by his own death or Divine action, he felt the wolf's weight release his body; heard the pained scream and then the thudding of the wolf's retreat into the forest. He became aware of a pounding in his ears, the rushing of blood that made his head ache and the realization that someone was calling his name.

"Vlad! Vladislaus, please God no…Vlad!" It was Gabriel.

Vlad smiled softly, pressing closer to Gabriel and struggling to find air. "I knew my Angel would come in handy." He muttered.

He heard Gabriel exhale, and then laugh. "You son of a demon…you…are you alright?" Vlad felt Gabriel's hands trace over his body, then them retract from pure horror as the touched the wound. "Vlad, you were bitten…"

Vlad felt his mind clear of pain only to allow terror to take its place. He felt his body begin to shake under the strain of what he had just heard. "Then…let me die."

"What?" Came the reply, "No!"

"Gadjo…listen to me. Whoever is bitten by a werewolf and lives, becomes a werewolf." Vlad felt salt as it began to sting his eyes. He began to shake in terror but struggled to keep his voice steady. He could allow his body, now poisoned, to betray him but his mind would not. Not yet. He looked up, through clouded vision and reached out to touch Gabriel's cheek. "I don't want to be damned…" He felt the darkness spreading over him again. "You can keep the ring."

"I'm going to steal that ring fair and square. And the hell you are going to be damned, I'm not going to lose you."

Vlad felt Gabriel hoist him up to his shoulders but he had no strength to scream. In between darkness and pain, he could feel Gabriel throw his cloak over his frame, and particularly over the bite wound, and then felt as he was lifted onto Balaam. Stelian had come, and now Gabriel and the boy talked in hushed words about returning to the Manor and alerting Nicolae's wife. Gabriel didn't tell Stelian he had been bitten. After Stelian had taken Nicolae's horse and tied it to his to leave, beginning the trek back to Vaseria, Vlad watched as Gabriel walked over to the remains of Nicolae, and with two fingers he crossed the man's soul and blessed him in Latin. Vlad smiled.

Such a damn hero, he thought to himself, before darkness finally sent him into a fitful sleep.


	9. In Exodus

Author's Note: Unedited and long in coming but blame Gabriel. Everytime I try and write this, he gets touchy-feeling with Vlad and I am trying to make this non-slash. I know, Aku, I've failed miserably but hey- nobody's prefect. Review and tell me you love me!

**Chapter Nine: In Exodus**

Gabriel had been preparing himself mentally for this confrontation all morning but somehow the image of Anne and Intessar joining forces to confront him chilled him more then he was prepared to admit. Still, he set his jaw and walked out to meet them, closing Vlad's door behind him and raising his hands to ward them off.

"He won't see you." He told them before either woman had a chance to speak. "And please don't ask wh…"

"Why has he sent us to Budapest!" Anne demanded, angrily. "My place is by my husband!"

"Why Vilkova Palace?" Intessar picked up right where Anne left off. "It makes no sense, why would he order his family away from Vaseria? We should be standing our ground, not running."

For a moment, looking into the eyes of the two women Vladislaus loved most in the world, Gabriel was tempted to tell the truth and shame the Devil. But it was that same truth that kept him silent. He knew would happened if word that Vladislaus had been bitten by the werewolf got out. Trust in the Valerious line would cease and anarchy would prevail. The Gypsy pagans would overrun the manor, take the family and kill them. Without Valerious the Elder to rule, the region would be vulnerable to the Moors. And that would not an option for the rest of Europe. Transylvania was the only thing keeping the Muslims at bay and Hungary's King would do anything to keep it securely within Christian hands. Even it meant keeping Vaseria and the region under an iron fist.

Vladislaus wouldn't want that, and so Gabriel couldn't allow it.

"Vlad has his reasons." Gabriel said simply. "And he expects me to carry out his orders to the best of my abilities. He has told me to move the family to Vilkova and I'm going to do that."

"But the summer palace is so far…" Anne began then stopped. She wrung her hands together and inhaled to keep composure. "Gabriel, let me see him! It's been two weeks since anyone has seen him."

"I've seen him." Gabriel countered.

Intessar's eyes were burning into Gabriel's head. "And you are the only one."

"And he's fine." He continued with some effort. "Nico's death was hard on him, and he is running out of time to plot another attack. The full moon is fast approaching…"

"Which is why we should be allowed to stay." Intessar determined. "He has to keep the people encouraged that he has everything under control…"

"I do have everything under control." Gabriel muttered, then realized the mistake in words a moment later. He inhaled. "I am working as his hand in these matters…"

Intessar narrowed her eyes. "I can see that." She hissed dangerously. "Are you now the Hand of God?"

"I am Vladislaus' servant."

"You weren't before Nicolae died."

"But I am now." Gabriel said, folding his arms across his chest. "And that should be enough for you." He told her. "Now go."

"It is not enough for me!"

"I said go." He said again, harsher and then turned to walk back into Vlad's rooms. He knew Anne would take this quietly and go with Count Valerious, his son and the servants to Vilkova. Gabriel wanted his Aunt Catherine and Feodor to be with him. That only left Intessar, who would fight for her right to remain in the manor. He couldn't really blame her either, without Vlad's protection, Intessar would have been shamed, killed or both by now.

But even she would not be safe here if the moon had it's way come the next time it appeared full in the sky.

And Gabriel knew that too. Inhaling, he rubbed his brow to keep the sweat from his eyes, or maybe to wipe away tears, he doubted he knew the difference anymore. He was tired and frightened for his friend. He wanted Catherine's guidance, wanted Vladislaus' strength, wanted security and peace of mind- all things he could not have. Not now.

Now he had to be the strength, the wisdom, the security and peace for the unbreakable Count Dracula. It seemed odd, even now when Gabriel had been juggling this for two weeks, that Vlad would need his help so completely. It seemed impossible that anything short of death could make Vlad weak…

"Gabriel?" Called Dracula's frail voice from the darkened room. "Is that you?"

"Yes, Vlad. It's me."

Dracula looked small in his bed, in the way, he was shirtless and writhing in the bed, with a fever that flushed the color from his body, and made him look ghostly. He looked dead, with his fair skin beyond pale and tight around the eyes, with sweat that matted his hair to his head. His lips, once so lush and full, were trembling and cracked, with blue touching the corners of his mouth.

Gabriel swallowed down his pain and walked to the bed, sitting beside him and forcing Vlad to relax and expose his wound to him. The wolf bite had become infected and with it, had come a deep fever that ravaged Vlad's mind, and took him to the edges of delirium at times. As the fever raged for longer and longer, it became harder and harder for Gabriel to pull Vlad out of it but he refused to admit Vlad was dying, even to himself. To admit that would be like claiming God could be destroyed.

"I saw him," Vladislaus was mumbling, sometimes in Romany, sometimes Hungarian and other times in something that was probably gibberish. "I saw the Devil."

"Don't say such things, Vlad." Gabriel whispered, as he began to change the dressing on the wound.

"He whispers things in my ear." Vlad mumbled. "Big words …words like betrayal and murder…and damnation, and…the devil speaks Romany."

"We always knew the Devil was a Gypsy." Gabriel mused at an attempt to lighten the mood.

Vladislaus to his credit, chuckled, but soon whatever demons the fever had conjured up, attacked again. "He means to make me Strigoi."

"Strigoi" Gabriel repeated, frowning. He knew that word, it was Gypsy but the meaning was escaping him.

"Nosferatu." Vlad repeated, his eyes cleared and he took hold of Gabriel's hand. His face twisted into pain as his body seized up in pain. "It hurts so much, Gabriel...why must it hurt so much!"

"I don't know, Vlad. But I have you, I got you." Gabriel swore, as he leaned down to brush the hair from Vlad's face. He suddenly met those fevered eyes that had once captured him so completely those years ago and held the gaze till he felt his resolve weaken. He wanted to surrender and take Vlad away from this mess and his obligations. He longed to take away every pain from his friend's being but could not. So instead, Gabriel took a deep breath and fought to compose his voice before speaking again. "I swear it."

Vlad's face became drawn and haunted but terror or the fever stole whatever words he meant to speak. His eyes fluttered close as another bout of fitful sleep took over. Closing his eyes, Gabriel buried his face in one hand while the other groped his side and he struggled to develop a plan. He didn't know if the werewolf venom or the infection that was causing the bouts of dementia but he wasn't looking forward to the results. The full moon was coming. He would have to release Vladislaus from this, but found that he could not. He dropped the dagger he realized he was holding and stood.

He didn't know what stayed his hand: love or cowardice but it was enough. It was enough to show him that no matter what, not even for mercy's sake, he could not kill Vlad.

And heaven help him if he couldn't.

* * *

"What are you planning, mother?" Feodor asked as his mother led him into Armory. "With Gabriel's foolish decree…we're being sending to Vilkova and there go our…"

"Don't be so impatient, dear one." Catherine rebuked as she brought him before the huge map of the area.

Feodor exhaled angrily. He knew his mother had often come down to view this map as if gave her some sort of inspiration that he could never handle. He preferred action when he came to thinking. He preferred to race through uneven terrain, or spar with some soldier to train his body and soothe his soul.

"I am staying here, Gabriel wants me close." Catherine said, running her hand over the edge of the map, and muttering words he could not hear. "You will come to me by the sky ways, to finish what you started."

"I don't understand…" He whispered as he watched the map shimmer and disappear to reveal a gold frame and what appeared to be a mirror. A mirror he had no reflection in. He shuttered and stepped back. "What magic is this?"

"This is your sky way." Catherine told him and stepped closer to the mirror. "Vilkova." She told the mirror and gradually the scene changed, becoming the mirror that hung from the Great Hall in the palace. Feodor shuttered in awe as he stared into the darkened ballroom, hundred of miles away. He licked his lips and stepped closer to his mother. She smiled at him. "You are certain Vlad is bitten?"

"Yes, mother. He will become wolf next full moon."

"Good. I will be there when he first transforms, take his will. I will use to kill Gabriel, and then come morning, turn him over to Kolos…his fate and that of Intessar's will be sealed then."

"Gabriel?" Feodor whispered, frowning. "You mean to kill Gabriel?"

"Oh my son…don't be troubled. His death will not be in vain…" She looked down, before taking Feodor's hand into hers and holding it below her chest. "But I will need you too. If Vlad resists at first, I'll need protection." She looked at him, longingly. "Tell me I have fully in this."

"But Gabriel…" Feodor began before looking away and nodded. "Yes, mother. You'll have me."

"Then go now, attend to Anne and my husband. You're journey will be long." Catherine watched as he disappeared unto his errand and she shook her head. He had been useful, and the only source of comfort for many years. But he would also become a loose end if her planned work. She could not allow that. So she would miss him but she would not mourn for long.

After all, soon she'd have a Kingdom to rule.


	10. Under the Full Moon

Author's Note: Unedited, I'll fix it tomorrow. Show me love.

****

**Chapter Ten: Under the Full Moon**

"You look pale."

Gabriel jumped as he spun around to face the entrance where Dracula stood smiling weakly at his friend. Dracula's color had returned to his face, but from either laziness or a need to show off, Vlad had yet to don a shirt and stood now in the fading sunlight shirtless with black pants and his long hair pulled into a lazy ponytail. He had donned his gold earrings again and now looked healthy but flushed as if fresh from training and happy. Had this been any other time, any other day, Dracula would have crept into Gabriel's room, ready to assail Gabriel with some sort of game to save him from his studies and as Vlad put it "complete despair."

But this was not any other time. This was the night of the full moon and Dracula had come, not to Gabriel's room, but to the Armory, where Gabriel stood polishing a silver sword for later tonight.

Vlad's eyes flickered to the sword before settling back on Gabriel. He tried to smile again but couldn't, knowing the purpose behind Gabriel's actions. He turned to the window and stared into the sky before speaking idly. "You should be resting. Tonight you will fight a demon."

"I couldn't rest even if I wanted." Gabriel whispered quietly as he walked to Dracula. Reaching out with one hand, he cupped Vlad's cheek and brought him closer, resting his forehead against Vlad's. "Not when I know you may suffer so."

"But will you have the strength to save me when you need to?" Dracula returned mournfully.

"There's nothing I need to save you from…" Gabriel said, pulling away and readjusting the grip on his sword.

"You don't believe that, or else you wouldn't be preparing your sword."

"Precautions against the werewolf."

"I'm standing right here. You don't need to be cautious."

"Don't say such things. You're not a werewolf."

"Gabriel, please listen to me…if I am lost…"

"No, no. I refuse to accept this. I refuse to acknowledge that black magic or the Devil has you. I won't lose…"

"Don't let your love for me cloud your judgment."

"My love for you is all I have that keeps me here!" Gabriel shouted, not realizing he had till he had spun about and seen Dracula's torn face.

His friend looked tired, and weak but despite himself, he walked towards Gabriel and stopped short of returning the earlier touch. Instead of touching him, Dracula offered him a weak, slow smile before walking over to the opposite wall, and choosing a sword to his liking. He turned and swung his sword a little at Gabriel, like a snake.

"If we can't talk." He told Van Helsing. "Can we at least dance? One last time."

Gabriel frowned and motioned to speak again but before he could, Dracula had attacked. Vlad had tucked on hand behind his back and stood sideways, in the way the English fought and smiled playfully as he swung his sword in various parries and thrusts that Gabriel blocked with ease. He countered, and took the offensive, pushing Vladislaus back and sidestepping his friend's attempts to get into his stance.

It was ridiculous game that neither person really wanted to play but it didn't matter. They both desperately wanted to forget fate and duty, God and Goddess for a moment and live as they had before the Crusades, the wives and the demons. They wanted nothing more then to be friends and brothers. No more wars, and games that the rich or powerful played. Let them have it. Let the Gods battle their own wars and leave them out of it. Gabriel and Vlad would be content together, as brothers, till natural death parted them. But this was not their fate and Gabriel knew it. Vlad was destined for power and ruling, and his were a life devoted to God.

Even if the events of the past month had not happened, they would have still been parted. Their youth was over. Innocence had failed and the games boys played were no longer games.

And this truth made the steel of the swords as they clashed even more damning to Gabriel. But still he fought, not against Vlad per say, but against the truth. He swung out at the stupidity of men and the vanity of Gods. He fought against the Angels of Heaven, and Demons of Hell, and those of the Earth that dared claimed they knew which side was right. Salty tears began to sting his eyes, but Gabriel ignored them, determined to defeat the unfairness of the whole situation.

He felt his arm shake from the impact of the other's sword against his, and Gabriel struck out. He took one sharp swipe at the other's hand and heard rather then saw the blade come free and fall to the ground. He heard the enemy's startled yelp, and ducked down, swinging at his legs and letting him fall. Gabriel brought his sword up and then leveled it on the neck, ready to make the kill.

"Gadjo, enough! You win!"

Gabriel blinked out of his dream and realized his place. He was still in the Armory, and underneath his blade was Count Dracula, his beautiful brown eyes staring wildly into Gabriel's.

"Or is this how you'll do it?" Dracula whispered. He had put his arms behind him and pushed up from the ground, to position the sword tip in the center of the blade. He looked up, softly and Gabriel saw that his eyes too were filled with tears. "Tell me, Gadjo. Is this how you thought to save me?"

Gabriel pulled away, and turned, surprised at himself. His body was still pumped, still energized from the revelation of his holy quest but he was shocked at who his dreams had turned him against. Dracula was no villain.

But he found that even as he told himself this, he wasn't believing it anymore.

Something caught his eye, in the sword he still held. Looking down at the polished metal, he saw a reflection in the blade. Reflecting from the doorway was the shining, warped image of the full moon shining surreally down on him. His heart skipped a beat and he was only vaguely aware of seeing Catherine appear in the blade's mirror like surface before sharp pain erupted through his back and threw him down.

He heard the sound of a demonic wolf-like cry before impacting the ground and succumbing to darkness…

* * *

"Gabriel!"

It had happened so fast, Vlad hadn't realized what was happening at first. He had realized the moon had risen at the same time Gabriel had, but was too awe-struck at the fact he hadn't transformed to speak. He rose to his feet, meaning to touch Gabriel's back and show to him that Gabriel had indeed been right but two things had stopped him.

One, was the unexpected appearance of Catherine at the doorway to the Armory, and the other was the sensation of being pushed aside by a huge creature lunging from behind him. Dracula watched in horror as the Werewolf threw Gabriel to the ground, before bounding over him, towards Catherine. He gripped his sword, meaning to run towards his stepmother to protect her but another surprise awaited him.

The Monster circled in front of Catherine, and _kneeled. _

Finally, Dracula found words to speak. "What…what magic is this?"

Catherine's head snapped up, she also seemed to have been surprised by the turn of events. She glared at him, then stood, glancing at the werewolf. "You said he was bitten, you stupid boy! Finish it now!"

"…it's you?" Dracula said dumbly, backing away from her. He lifted his sword, feeling his whole body well up with anger and hate. He felt like a curtain had been pulled away from his eyes, as everything began to shift in his mind, turning against Catherine. "You're the Witch who has conjured this demon!"

"Don't act so surprised, you foul creature!" She shouted back. "Your filthy race thrives on stories of demons and monsters! How can you be so shocked to realize your father has slept with one!"

"I'll kill you for your treachery." Vlad swore, anger replacing where his strength had failed. "You killed Nicolae and the others! You'll pay for their deaths!"

"You won't have the chance to avenge those deaths, boy. My familiar will finish you off tonight and for eternity you'll burn in hell like the rest of your kind. While I," And Catherine paused here to smile a cruel savage smile. "And I will make your Kingdom mine after I impaled your wretched family on stakes as you did Grigore…"

Upon hearing this threat, Vladislaus screamed violently and jumped forward- intent to rent Catherine to pieces with or without his sword as aid. But Catherine's wolf was faster and jumped between them, batting Vlad away. Dracula flew back, against the rack of swords and screamed as he felt them slice his exposed back. He slumped to his knees and howled in pain as the wolf's mighty paw tore his chest, making blood ooze over his already tender body.

"I don't know how you avoided the curse," Catherine was muttering. "Gypsy magic perhaps…Goddess' mercy, but it will make little difference. You'll no longer be a threat after tonight." She walked over, and crouched down to brush Gabriel's prone body. "Tell me, boy…do you think Gabriel can scream like Grigore did?"

Dracula stared at the blood on his hands. His blood and he shuttered. His mind was racing from pain, and delirium and utter despair. It could not end like this, he told himself, it can't. He could not fail, in this his only mission. Damn the world. He would not lose!

_Then don't. _

The voice came and whispered in his ear quietly, and for a moment he thought it was his own. But it was not. This voice was new, but familiar, haunting but firm. Vladislaus closed his eyes, and waited. He stopped short of naming the voice, but knew, even if he did not speak it, who had come to him now when all else had abandoned him.

_Take your blood._ The Voice instructed. _Your impurity, the impurity of all your people and use it. That is your weapon. That is your cure. Your blood._

_Blood is life. _

Not fully understand the words, Dracula opened his eyes and pushed his hands down to find his sword again. His palm smeared his blood over his blade as he found it and he barely had time to find the hilt and thrust the sword up as the werewolf jumped unto the blade.

It was a clean cut, slicing through the arm of the creature and causing it to jolt back. Dracula forced himself up, and rose his sword, readying for another attack. But his hand stayed as something happened.

Beginning at where Dracula's blood had touched the wolf's arm, the skin of the creature began to tremble as if something was moving under the skin. Bathed in the silver moonlight, the tremors moved through the wolf's entire frame, causing the creature to howl in pain and begin to tear at itself. Vlad stepped back in revulsion, as skin and fur began to peel away to reveal a man. The creature's howls became less inhumane and more recognizable as words almost seemed to form between sobs and pitches of pain. Until finally, breathing heavily, and looking around in pure shock, Feodor stood where the wolf once had.

Feodor touched his arm, which was still damp with Dracula's blood and turned to his mother. "Wha…"

The words died on his lips as his body convulsed and tensed. Dracula had pushed his sword through his brother's chest, as far as it could go and then with almost savage pleasure, he withdrew it. Feodor's body went rigid as the sword withdrew and then slumped to the floor.

Dracula watched it fall, and smiled with his own brand of cruelty as he stepped over Gabriel, to get closer to Feodor's remains. Catherine had backed away, to the doorframe. She stared first at Feodor, her mouth opening to as if she meant to strain out words, before turning to Vlad, and finally, looking behind at Gabriel. She must have seen something in her nephew's body because she turned back to Vlad.

What devilry was this?" She asked quietly, backing up to begin to climb the stairs.

"Devilry, mother?" Vladislaus asked maliciously. He smiled at her, allowing stray locks of his hair to fall over his wild eyes. There was a look within them that had been there before and Dracula felt it. It was like his hate had become a demon that possessed him, and despite himself- he could not find the will to be afraid. Instead, he gave this demon full control and allowed it to speak.

"No devilry." It continued. Dracula raised his hand to show his bloody palm to her. "If anything I am like God. My blood covers sins, heals and gives life…" He reached out to her, offering his hand to her. "I wonder," He whispered. "Do you think I can defy death itself now?"

"Let us see." She whispered, then inhaled. "Murder!" She cried. "Men, to Arms!"

Vladislaus hissed and stepped back, uncertain of what Catherine was doing. He still held the sword in one hand and lifted it to remind her of it.

But Catherine ignored him, she backed up another step, and instantly her demeanor changed from coldness to one of utter terror. She tugged at her chest and wrapped her arms around, creating sobs to rack her voice and testify to her fear. "To Arms!" She screamed again. "Vladislaus has the Devil in him! He's killed Feodor!"

"No one will save you here!" Vlad shouted, and jolted forward but was pulled back by a firm grasp of someone behind. At first, he was confused. With no back way into the Armory, no one could have entered in from behind Vlad. He swung about, half-expecting to see Feodor rise again. But his strength and hatred drained when he saw his attacker.

Gabriel had a sword in his free hand and was holding it dangerously close to Dracula's ribcage. On Van Helsing's face was a look of complete pain, coupled with something Vladislaus hadn't seen before. A deep-seated resolve that did not rest with Vladislaus. Gabriel was staring at him as if Dracula were a strange, new creation that he no longer recognized and no longer loved.

"Gabriel." He whispered, dropping his sword even as he did. "I am not the monster here."

Gabriel's voice came to him distant and impassive. "Tell that to Feodor."

Dracula's mind became a jumble as he was stunned into silence. He didn't resist Gabriel or the other soldiers when they rushed down the stairs and gaped at the grisly scene before them. Without his shirt, he knew they would see his wolf bite, and gazing out the window he saw the clouded moon. His hands were sticky with blood, and he knew what it must look like but he didn't care.

He lost it all. In one fell swoop, with one cry from a woman, his whole world had been taken from him.

"He's a Witch!" Dracula heard one of the soldiers cry as they clamped down irons over his wrists.

"No, his woman is! Intessar…the Moor! She's brought this to us!"

Dracula began to choke. He turned, franticly. "My bride." He pleaded with Gabriel. "Protect her, please!"

But his friend's face showed no sign of mercy as Dracula was pulled away. He strained to keep eye contact with Gabriel as long as he could, knowing that he could win his friend back. He only needed the chance. But the chance did not come then, and Dracula knew Catherine would not give it to him later. Her victory had been complete. His Kingdom stolen, and his friends turned against him, he had nowhere to turn to. He was alone.

_No…_

The voice returned.

_I am here…_


	11. In Death

Author's Note: After a long hiatus, here's the new chapter. Only one more to go: so review and show the love. Forgive mistakes and love goes to Aku Maru for her inspiration. For the record, I'm not bashing Christianity or Wiccan, I'm just proving that Vlad's not big on the whole organize religion anymore…go figure.

**Chapter Eleven: In Death**

The room was quiet. And cold. From his place huddled against the wall it was impossible to tell the time of day, the season or even if there were such things at all. Sometime during his incarceration, Vladislaus began to believe he had died. It made some twisted sense in his own mind at least. Death was something mysterious for him, and his people. It was thick, evil and distant. Romany cared nothing for death, as the Christians seemed to. Romany only cared for their families, their Gods and their culture. But the Christians, they were obsessed with Death. Everything revolved around it: from their God's claim to freedom (they said Jesus had conquered it) to their politics and those damnable wars that ravaged the country side and threw his people into chaos. Yes, for claiming to be such a faith of peace and life they were decidedly cruel and callous.

And they were macabre. They spoke of healing blood, washing in it to remain pure and even, in some thinly veiled ceremony drinking blood. Any Romany knew that Blood was impure, unholy and cursed. That is why the color red was taboo, and why women held the power of impurity beneath their skirts. Everyone knew this.

Why was he thinking about blood?

"You know why," Purred a voice.

Vladislaus made a pathetic sound as he turned his head away from the voice. "Go away." He moaned.

It laughed; a thick pretty laugh. The laughter of someone who was secure in their victory. There was a flutter of movement in the corner, as if a bird had returned to roost, and although Dracula would play this over and over in his minds in the decades to come, he swore the movements clustered together and become flesh. It looked as if the creature had emerged from the shadows itself, as easily as one might pass through a door.

And Dracula saw her.

She was beautiful in a non-descript fashion. She was naked one moment and clothed in the next; and Dracula realized her entire was changing, shifting in and out into one lovely form or another. She was at once Intessar, lush lips curved into a seductive smile as the creature moved closer to him, then Anne with her doleful looks and healing smile. She turned into Catherine with the dark red hair graying like a tarnished ring of gold. Then, other women, faces Vladislaus had seen and bodies he had admired over his life: Muslims with their faces covered, dark-skinned Indians with unnatural bright eyes that gleamed up like polished bones, white ladies of court with dancing smiles that belied debauchery. Women of coyness and courage, of purity and perversion, of faith and apathy; she embodied them all. She was everyman's dream and nightmare; her eyes caught a man and held him fixed in her stare while those lips dripped poisonous honey.

She was creator and murderer: life and death. In her womb, she held all life, and her arms carried her children. She urged men to war, and to peace and held all that was and all that could be. She was mother and lover, combined. Divinity, and celestial in her origin, she was also joined to the world and her children.

And despite himself, Vladislaus shivered.

The being made a sound, akin to pity as she kneeled beside him, cupping her hands around his rough cheek. She smelled of rain and battlefields.

"You, my son…" She purred, lips caressing his ear. "You, my lover…are leader of men. They gave you a sword and a cause and you shook the world with it. You remade the world in your image. You remade _me_ in your image. The Christians can't see this but you know it, you always have. Man is not made in God's image, but God is in Man's. And you have become a God, have you not my child?" Her voice dropped lower, so much so that Vladislaus had to press even closer to her to hear. "You took the ancient lands. The lands of bloody God, of their conflicting faiths and etched out your name. That is why they hate you. You are not of them, not controlled by them. You are Romany, Goddess' ruled and they will not allow this." She pulled away from him "So they mean to take your life."

Vladislaus shut his eyes, wishing to linger in her arms longer, hungry for the comfort she gave. "Are you her?" He asked softly. "Are you the Mother?"

"I have been called many names. That is one. I am what my children need me to be." Came the reply. "I am the Great Mother, and the Destroyer. I am Spring's harvest and Winter's chill. I am death and disease, life and bounty." There was a long beat. "And I am what can give you what you need now."

"What's that?"

"Revenge." Vladislaus looked up, meeting her gaze for a moment. Her body seemed to have settled on one shape now, and on one garment. She was dark haired, brown eyed and dressed in a simple brown robe that covered her simple frame. "Revenge on the family that will take your life. Revenge on the Romany who have forsaken your Goddess. Revenge on all those who have turned away from the path, and made you suffer for their hypocrisy."

He was shaking now, at the utter terror behind the woman's words. There was something in him, deep in his soul, that screaming warnings to him but how could he have known, being as he was, what this creature was. And had he known, would they have made any difference? "…And how would you do this?"

"By making you a weapon of my vengeance. Death will have no rule over you, Vlad, pain no sting. Time will be of no meaning to you…as long as you serve me."

"No." He murmured. "No, I can't…these are my people…you cannot ask me this…"

"I ask you because you are what the others cannot be!" She leaned in again, her lips caressing his. She purred again, and traced one of the paths his tears had made over his face. "Oh my beloved Gypsy." She whispered. "Your deeds have given me so much pleasure…will you not let me help you now? Don't you know the world itself is in my reach? I can give it all to you…everything you desire."

She leaned in and kissed him, deeply and passionately and hungry for comfort; Vladislaus took it. He pressed against her, longingly for her gifts while at the same time repulsed by them. He heard her voice in his head as they kissed: promising and pleading with him and then he felt it turn, into something familiar…

When he pulled away, he saw Gabriel's eyes peering back at him.

"Everything you want." Gabriel told him, but there was a malicious that danced behind the voice. A darkness that was alien to this form and caused Vladislaus to pull away in disgust.

"No." Vladislaus hissed, anger growing in his voice as he repeated the word over and over until it became a mantra. "No, no, no, no!" He shouted. He looked up, hatefully. "I will not bow to you…he will save me. He will come."

At first the creature frowned and tilted her head, as if she could not understand of whom Vladislaus spoke of and then it understood. It morphed back into the non-descript woman from before and smiled at him. "Let's see if he came to help you." She cooed, and disappeared just as the door opened.

Dracula was blinded from the light as it came flooding into the room. He felt as if he was staring into the sun itself for a moment but gradually, as he blinked away the pain and tears left from his earlier encounter, he could make of images in the shadows and faces.

He found Gabriel's face first, naturally. Then, his tired eyes saw Stelien, who kept playing with the hilt of his sword as if Dracula was about to spout wings and attack him. He saw Father Kolos and the priest thick robes before actually setting on Kolos' tight face. And lastly, he saw Catherine. Anger and strength renewed, Vladislaus made a motion towards her only to be pulled back by the irons around his wrist. He hissed quietly, and bowed his head. Waiting.

"Your father is still weak." Kolos was saying. "And has refused to past judgment on your blasphemy."

"There's a right father." Vlad muttered.

"However, the Vatican will not take such sin within her Church. To that end, you have been excommunicated."

He looked up, meeting Kolos' eyes. "Where's Intessar?" He asked.

"You have also been sentenced to hang." The Father finished as if he had not spoken at all. He stopped now only to see Vlad's reaction.

And Dracula would give him none. Without flinching, or pausing he asked again. "Where's Intessar?" Vladislaus turned as Gabriel stumbled slightly, and looked away. A low, welling pain began in his stomach and made him tremble again. He swallowed. "Gabriel…where is Tessa? Anne?"

Gabriel was refusing to meet him gaze, and the tremors that took Gabriel's body were familiar, as if he were stuck in one of his nightmares.

"Gabriel." Vladislaus whispered. "look at me."

No one else in the room mattered. They had faded away with the false Goddess. They were nothing but shadows, rats that were hidden away that no one bothered with. After along time, an eternity it seemed, Gabriel looked up and met his eyes. The man tried to speak twice but something broke his voice each time and he turned to Stelien for a moment for comfort. Vladislaus waited. He had time to wait for Gabriel. If need be, he could wait for centuries.

"They told her to renounce her God and seek redemption." Gabriel murmured. There was a wry respect there, a bitterness too. "She refused…" He turned away to study his hands. "She's dead, Vlad."

Vladislaus felt everything abandon him there, in that moment. Looking back, remembering, dreaming or screaming about it: he would remember that moment as the one that killed him. The follow-up was nothing. That had been the end. That was the moment Gods died and the world darkened. His heart did not break. He would remembered that. It simply stopped, as something that had wound its course and now had no use would. It was a quiet, painless and serene but it shook the world in its speed.

He remembered shutting his eyes in that second. Then looking up, and meeting Catherine's eyes first. She was the reason behind it all. As he stared at her, tears began to sting his eyes, and twisted his stomach. In his mind's eye, he could sense what Intessar had gone through. He knew it. Christians would not be merciful to a Moor, and they could be very cruel when they wanted to be. He could see her, alone and afraid…

This would be the last time he cried and it would be for Intessar.

"I will take the revenge you offer." He whispered quietly and he heard a woman's laughter dance behind his ears. Catherine flinched as if she heard it too. He smiled at her. A small, secret smile. He was overcome with a new feeling, a sensation he had never felt before. Serenity, matched with the complete overwhelming sense of hatred. Hatred towards life and beauty, hate of Gods and Goddesses, of friends and foes. He began to laugh, a rich redeeming laugh that made him whole and hungry. They had killed him. Now, they could not touch him. They could not hurt them.

But he could hurt them.

"You would have done better to kill me in the Armory, mother." He told Catherine. "But you faltered, and you will pay for it. Enjoy the fruits of your labor, because you shall be the only one to see them. I will come in some black night to your home. I will take your son, as I took Feodor…and I will feed on his blood."

Catherine was afraid. He could smell it on her. Kolos was shouting at him. Catherine was shouting at Kolos. Stelian was trembling from fear. And he was laughing. He could see now what they were: these people who had ruled his life, these who had commanded him and made him think and rethink his life. He saw them in their fragility, in their hypocrisy and weakness. They were nothing but food for stronger forces. Food for him. He turned to Stelian, smiling.

"The women will make charms against men, and the men will try and hunt me…but I will you pay for the wrongs you have done me. The Romany people will no longer live in peace, and as Valerious falls, so shall they. I shall make your women my brides…and one by one, I will destroy you all. I will remake this land of hypocrites and damned Gods into my world!" He shouted. "No longer will your children live in peace! What I cannot take in life, I will take in death! The night will be mine and I will take my vengeance on those who would destroy me!"

There was sharp pain that cut his words short. So deep into his rant, Vladislaus had not seen Gabriel draw his long sword nor had seen the swift, deft movement the man had made, cutting through flesh and bone. Vladislaus body twisted on instinct in a vain attempt to wrench away from the pain but found it could not. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a ragged choke escaped, as all his gall and bravado left him. His body stiffened against its will as Gabriel withdrew the blade.

"Release him!" Gabriel shouted in horror. He squatted down and took Vlad into his arms.

Dracula turned slightly, meeting his eyes. "Is this how you save me, Gadjo?" He asked quietly.

Gabriel was crying openly now. He was shaking his head and stumbling over his words as he clung tighter to his friend's weak frame. Gabriel could sense death approaching, could feel his friend's spirit leaving. "I…never wished this. Vladislaus, you can't… we can't end like this."

"End, Gabriel?" He whispered, laughing. Vlad reached up and traced the path one of Gabriel's tears had made down his face. "We do not end like this, brother." He felt darkness coming and with it, something darker. Something that made him shiver. "Love like ours surpass death…our story has just begun." His eyes began to darken as they looked into Gabriel's and Van Helsing knew that as long as he had breath in his lungs, as long as memory lasted, he would remember that look in his friend's gaze. It had been cold, but wise and almost sad in scope. Vladislaus seemed to glimpse everything that was real and terrible in those last moments.

And they were all in Gabriel's eyes.

Gabriel was only dimly aware as Kolos pulled him away from the body. He felt the hands push him further to the door, out into the fresh air and a life without Dracula. He was feeling a wealth of emotions he couldn't name or understand. There was fear, and pain, and love, and anger and others mixing and merging and burning his blood. He began to run, wrenching free of their grips and rushing towards the sunlight. He didn't stop till he was out of the dungeons and in the cool, refreshing morning air. He sank to his knees in front of the Valerious Manor and dug his hands into the deep, dark soil to grab at something that would end the spiral his mind was going through. Gabriel was so deep into his own world that when Stelian touched his shoulder, he yelped and jerked away.

Stelian looked at him and laughed. "No worries, Gabriel." The youth told him. "The long night is over. It is a new day."

Gabriel tried to look into Stelian's eyes but the sun was behind the youth and it burned Gabriel's eyes, causing him to recoil. He wanted to say something but didn't trust his voice. So instead he bowed his head and nodded slowly.

"Here." Stelian offered, reaching out his hand and depositing something into Van Helsing's palm. Gabriel waited till the boy was out of sight before looking down to see his boon.

There resting in his hand, bloodied and serene, was Vladislaus' ring.


	12. The Aftermath

Author's Note: As with all good things, this story is completed! A sequel is unlikely but possible, time will tell. Thank you to everyone who made this my most reviewed story, and please click that little button at the bottom and tell me what you think of the end, and if I should write a follow-up. Again, thank you and God Bless!

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**Chapter Twelve: In the Aftermath**

The people of Vaseria called her Anne of Dracula now, and where once that title would have been one of esteem and honor, it had now become a term of shame. When she walked the town, the people shied away from her, as if everything about her was cursed. To promote or accept this, Anne had taken to wearing black gowns: made in the fashion of Europeans instead of the Gypsy people she had grown to love. Age and care beat her in the end, and although she still seemed to posses some underlying beauty, Anne's features were cold and set. Graying now, and eyes downcast and always bitter, she walked home from church silently with her son playing a few steps ahead of her.

They said he was cursed, this child of a Vampire although no one would say it to his face. There was darkness over his features, a pallor that overcame any view of innocence and splendor and seemed to turn it dark and haunting. His hair was a black as night itself, and hung in a curtain around his pale face. Eyes burned like coals from his pale skull offset by the dullest pink lips that formed a prefect mouth. Anne liked to dress the toddler in black as well, with small riding boots made especially for his small feet that clicked when he walked. His laughter was cold, and his smile macabre somehow, as if this child's creator had taken everything pure and innocent about children and reformed it in his own dark image.

But to Gabriel, nothing else had ever looked so beautiful as Anne and Leonid Van Helsing as they came home from Church. It had been an easy matter after Vladislaus' death to marry his widow, and Anne had agreed readily. She would not return to the Court whose politics had played such a role in her first husband's demise nor she take a husband from the bands of Gypsy men in the town that had murdered him. Gabriel was a wise choice: he was hailed as hero by the people of Vaseria, viewed as a son by Valerious the Elder, and still nursed secret sympathies for the Dracula Count who's name had become a curse word.

More importantly, most importantly, was the fact Dracula's son and heir would be protected. The boy had been born and christened Leonid Van Helsing three years ago today, and for the most part lived a happy ignorant life. Despite the rumors surrounding this Dhampire, half-breed Vampire, Leonid could run and play in his shadows (unlike most children, Leonid loved the night) and could be certain of his loving parents.

Anne looked up as Gabriel came out to meet them. She smiled at him warily before folding herself in his arms for a moment. Gabriel smiled a little, burying his nose in her hair and savoring the perfumes she used to adorned herself.

"How are your nightmares?" Anne asked, quietly as she pulled away. "You only barely got to sleep this morning, I didn't want to wake you for Church."

"They're fine." Gabriel lied uncomfortably and began to walk with Anne around the gardens while keeping a fatherly eye on Leonid. The toddler had found a bug that interested him and now turned his attention to plucking the wings off the small creature. "So do you like the new priest?"

Anne laughed slightly. "He spent the first half of his sermon trying to assure us that Kolos died because of robbers instead of Vampires."

"And did anyone believe him?"

"Of course not." Anne eyes dimmed nervously. "Everyone's scared you know," She began. "Everyone's worried that they'll be the next victim of this...creature."

"There is no creature."

"You're right. Stelien, Kolos...your Aunt, they were all killed by bandits or madmen."

"Or someone with a vendetta against them and sympathy for Vladislaus." Gabriel countered coldly, staring at Anne. "Someone who would want revenge on what they did to him."

"What you did to him too." Anne whispered, with just as much coldness in her voice to match his. "Are you saying I am responible for their deaths?"

"Are you?"

"Go to hell." She hissed. "I wouldn't never do this to any of them...I loved Dracula, and I won't shame him by committing these crimes in his name."  
"Yet you are fully willing to claim that it is Vladislaus himself comitting these murders!"

Anne shuttered and looked away, and Gabriel regretted his tone. He tried to touch her, to comfort her but she refused, jerking away from him and staring at Leonid. When she chose to speak again, her voice was low and sad. "He was wronged, Gabriel. Vladislaus was wronged and died for no reason, and now, those responible are dying...horrific deaths. They're being found drained of blood, just like he said they would. I don't know what to believe. I don't know." As her fear grew, she trembled and stepped closer into Gabriel's embrace. "But I know this...it's not over." She shook her head. "He won't let be over."

Gabriel swallowed hard and hugged Anne tighter. "Annie," He soothed quietly. "Don't worry, I have you and Leonid...whatever is doing this, whatever is behind these murders...I'll stop. I'll protect you from it."

Anne glanced up at him with a thin, wan smile that made her appear drawn and tired. She shook her head tiredly, "My dear one. You can not protect me from the man who owned you in life...and will own you in death."

Gabriel went to rebuke but his words died as the sound of an oncoming rider caught his attention. He turned and squinted as the sun met his eyes. Gradually, the sunlight dulled and revealed a handsome rider on a roan horse. The creature was fearsome and panting from a long journey and it's black leather adnorments glistened with importance. Set against any of the Valerious horses, this creature would have proudly outstripped them, Dracula's own Balaam included and Gabriel realized this was the point. The owner of this mount seemed obsessed with appearance.

He dismounted now and withdrew his gray hood from around his rough, darken features. He had auburn hair that fell around his face and unto his shoulders. He was a handsome man, worn and tanned by sun with trinkets of silver and gold that hung from his uniform. Green eyed, and anxious, this man had the typical stance of a English noble, and Gabriel could tell right off he was accustomed to polished homes and glided cages. To him, Vaseria must seem as native and savage as Jerusalem and as if to prove it, the Knight's face settled into a uncertain sneer. He turned and raised his chin upon catching Gabriel's eye.

"Well met," He called, closing the distance between Gabriel, Anne and him. Leonid seemed to sense danger and ran to his mother. The man ignored him. "I am Esau Camus, looking for Valerious Dracul."

"And what business do you have with him?" Gabriel said, warily.

Esau glanced at him, in study. "Rome has sent me. I am a Knight of the Holy Order and it's come to our attention that certain...events have taken place that require our attention."

"What sort of attention is this?" Anne asked from her place.  
The man seemed surprised to be asked by a woman but shook it off. "Specialized care. I deal with supernatural forces...there's been talk of magic here."

Gabriel felt his stomach twist. "You're too late." He whispered. "It's over now."

Esau looked up. "It would make it easier, wouldn't it?" He asked, as he threw his cloak over his shoulders. He ignored the rest as he walked into the Manor. "If such things ended when you wanted them too?"

**To be continued...**


End file.
